Nagal bows out in Auckland; Sriram-Miguel win in Adelaide

Sumit Nagal

N Sriram Balaji and Miguel Reyes-Varela advanced to the Adelaide International pre-quarterfinals while Sumit Nagal fought hard before making an early exit at the Auckland ASB Classic on Monday. The Indo-Mexican pair of Balaji and Reyes-Varela staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Rohan Bopanna and his new Colombian partner Nicolas Barrientos 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.

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Bopanna, who ended his two-year partnership with Australia's Matthew Ebden and paired up with Barrientos ahead of the Australian Open, had a stellar first-serve percentage. India's top singles player Nagal put up a spirited fight before falling to his USA rival Alex Michelsen 7-6 (8), 4-6, 2-6 in a gruelling two-hour, 40-minute battle.

Nagal edged the first set in a tense tie-break but Michelsen's improved consistency and stronger service game in the subsequent sets proved too much for Nagal. Nagal fought valiantly, saving 70 per cent of break points and taking the first set with a gritty tie-break win.

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