Nagal crashes out of Shanghai Masters

Shanghai: Indian tennis ace Sumit Nagal’s campaign in the Shanghai Masters ended in a first-round exit after he suffered a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to China’s Wu Yibing here on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old, who has been in the news recently due to his dispute with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) regarding his participation in the Davis Cup fixture against Sweden, went down in straight sets leading to his second straight first-round elimination. In August, he crashed out of the US Open in the first round after losing to TallonGriekspoor of the Netherlands.

Nagal, who had been battling a back injury, was accused of demanding an annual fee of USD 50,000 by the AITA to represent India in the Davis Cup tie but the country’s top singles player defended himself, saying it is “standard practice” for athletes across the world to be paid for their services. Nagal had opted out of the recent Davis Cup tie against Sweden, citing a back strain that also forced him out of the US Open men’s doubles competition last month. This was Nagal’s first event on the ATP Tour since his first-round exit from the US Open.