Where Sumit Nagal's stunning Australian Open 2024 win over Bublik ranks in the history of Indian singles tennis

Sumit Nagal's straight-set win over Alexander Bublik is not just the biggest win of his career but warrants a place in the history of Indian singles tennis.

Sumit Nagal's win in straight sets over Alexander Bublik in the first round of the 2024 Australian Open marks a watershed moment in Indian tennis. Nagal, 26, who in December, was denied a wildcard nomination by AITA, in the first grand slam of the season, and fought through the qualifiers en route to securing possibly the greatest singles victory of his career as he slayed the World No. 27. The big man from Kazakhstan, Bublik, did not know what hit him, and he slumped to a 4-6, 2-6, 6-7 defeat to the World No. 137. Nagal has a tough road ahead but for the Indian tennis fans, this is a victory that will be cherished for a long time to come.

Sumit Nagal of India is congratulated by Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan (AP)

Nagal's win definitely qualifies as a red-letter day in the history of tennis in the country, and warrants its place in history. Nagal's victory is the first ever by an Indian over a seeded opponent in a Grand Slam since 1989 – that makes it 34 years. That being acknowledged, does Nagal's achievement stand as the greatest ever by an Indian considering his circumstances?

To find the answer, we must track down history, going back to 1973, when a 19-year-old Vijay Amritraj made the world take notice of his tennis prowess. Considered the greatest Indian tennis player of the open era, Amritraj's legendary run up to the 1973 Wimbledon quarterfinal, even 50 years later, remains the stuff of legends. Amritraj saw off the who's who of world tennis, beating Harold Turnbull of Australia 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round, Belgium's Bernard Mignot 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in the second. Britain No 1 John Lloyd was up next for Amritraj, with the Indian eventually triumphing 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5 in a topsy-turvy affair.

Amritraj went on to defeat the seventh-seed, Owen Davidson of Australia 7-5, 8-9, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarters, where Jan Kodes got the better of him and went on to win the title. Amritraj reached the quarters of the US Open too – the same year (where he defeated Rod Laver) and then again in 1974, but his Wimbledon run was something else altogether.

Fast forward to 1989 Australian Open, where Ramesh Krishnan did the unthinkable when he slayed the then World No. 1 and defending champion Mats Wilander. The top-seeded Wilander was red-hot – he had won the Australian Open, the US Open and the French Open in 1988 – but was outsmarted by the unseeded Krishnan 3-6, 2-6, 6-7. To this day, it remains the only instance of an Indian defeating a World No. 1 at a Grand Slam in the singles event. What made this achievement even sweeter was that leading into the second-round clash, Wilander had beaten Krishnan in six of their previous seven meetings. The impact of the defeat was such that Wilander contemplated taking a break from tennis.

Nagal's miracle outcome over Bublik ranks third after Amritraj's man-possessed streak and Krishnan's epic Wilander conquest. Nagal, the highest-ranked Indian, did not, for a moment flinch, from the time he broke Bublik in the first serve of the match. He was tactically superior and mentally tougher. 20 minutes into the opening set, as Nagal broke Bublik's serve twice, the big guy from Kazakhstan was playing catch-up. Nagal was near-invincible in the second set, forcing Bublik into committing unforced errors. The frustration was palpable; Bublik smashed his racquet on the mat thrice. Nagal knew at that point that he was inside his opponent's head.

Nagal's achievement far superior to some of those before him

From having just 900 euros – which converts into INR 80,000 – in his bank account in January of last year, Nagal's feat promises to carve a new path in a young man's tennis career. A player who previously struggled with his body, who has been battling financial issues, who rarely faces top-ranked athletes in world's big events, upstaged 'Sasha' Bublik in the first round of the Australian Open. Just for the record, Bublik (seeded 31) is more than 100 spots above Nagal in the ATP world rankings.

In between there have been quite a few other instrumental wins – such as Somdev Devvarman beating Simone Bolelli in the 2013 Australian Open first round and Ramkumar Ramanathan stunning Dominic Thiem at the 2017 Antalya Open final, but none comes close to Nagal's breathtaking effort at a time when a defeat could have inflicted a lot more damage.

Nagal's Australian Open high shattered a three-year drought for Indian singles players at Grand Slams. The last hope was, ironically, Nagal himself, who reached the main draw in 2021 before a brutal hip surgery sent his ranking and form plummeting. He started 2023 limping outside the top 500, ineligible even for Challenger qualifiers, let alone the grand stage of the Australian Open. But sheer grit and two Challenger titles later, both his tennis and ranking started clicking back into place. It is, without, shadow of a doubt, his greatest career achievement – bigger than taking a set off Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open – and right up there as one of the best witnessed in the Indian singles tennis circuit.