Nagal recounts what he missed in loss to Kecmanovic

London, July 3

Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal feels he had the momentum in the third set of the Wimbledon first-round tie against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia but his relative inexperience on grass cost him the match.

The 26-year-old Indian, who is set to participate in his second Olympics in less than a month, lost the Wimbledon men’s singles opener to Kecmanovic, ranked 19 places higher than him, in a marathon four-setter which he lost 2-6 6-3 3-6 4-6.

The 71st-ranked, making it to the Wimbledon main draw for the first time, won the second set to even terms but the Serbian, ranked 52nd, won the next two to advance. “This is my first main draw at Wimbledon, and playing on the grass surface is not easy; you need a bit of experience. But I think I did whatever I could, I fought hard. I felt like I could have served better, and there were a few things here and there in the match I could have done better,” Nagal said.

“In the third set, the momentum was kind of shifting towards me.”