Image – Balaram Dhulipala

8th seeded Sumit Nagal put forth a great fight in the final qualifying round of the Indian Wells Masters, but lose to in-form Korean Seongchan Hong 6-2 2-6 6-7(4).

Nagal was trailing 5-3 in the final set but managed to make a comeback to level it at 5-5. In fact, he was two points away from victory at 6-5 30-30, but the Korean held on. Hong has had an impressive 2024 so far, making the final of two ATP Challenger events, including one in Bengaluru a few weeks ago.

Nagal in qualifying action at Indian Wells

Nagal is the second highest seed to lose in the final qualifying round. Hence, will need two withdrawals in the main draw to have a chance to enter the draw as a lucky loser.

If he doesn’t manage to get a lucky loser spot, he is expected to compete in the ATP 175 Phoenix Challenger starting next Monday, where’s he is 18th on the alternate list.