India’s tennis dream in the Paris Olympics was ended in a dramatic day of heartbreak, when Sumit Nagal and the old pair of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji were matched against tough French opposition. Read up on the matches and what future Indian tennis may face.
Sunday marked the end of India’s eagerly awaited tennis match string at the Paris Olympics because the country’s best players, Sumit Nagal and the men’s doubles combination of Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji, were defeated in their start-up singles on the same day.
The Indian team that had planned to make a big splash at the tournament witnessed a big surprise when they lost in the first round, giving them an early exit and leading to their Olympic dreams sinking in a day as they were overpowered by the influential French players on the sacred Roland Garros’ clay tracks.
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Sumit Nagal’s Battle Ends in Narrow Defeat
Sumit Nagal was the first Indian to hit the court, with his opponent being the frenzied Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
The game was held on a crowded Court 7 that marked Nagal’s participation in a nail-biting longest lawn tennis match with three-set encounter in which he eventually lost 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 to the two hours and twenty-eight minutes-long match.
Although Nagal’s strong baseline game was remarkable, the hyper-intelligent tactics of the home-clown Moutet created hellish obstacles for Nagal’s champion effort.
Nagal who was making his second appearance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and entrant with high expectations. At the Tokyo Olympics, he had gone up to the 2nd round losing to the Russian star Daniil Medvedev in undisputed time.
Nevertheless, this time, tensions shifted to Moutet in the deciding set who was later able to fight back and seal the victory of the match even though Nagal was leading 2-0 with an early break.
The match was turbulent. Nagal, the wonder boy, was phenomenal in the second set, taking the lead for the match. Nevertheless, Moutet’s experience and tactical play stood out in the third set.
Through his underarm serves, drop shots, and slices, Moutet literally kept his opponent on the back foot, and his skill at breaking at crucial moments turned out to be the game-changer.
Nagal was very visibly frustrated with the misses he got and the latest tennis results when he was in a victory position in the last set, especially when he was 2-0 ahead. Nagal’s inability to make a point early in the game, combined with some mistakes, allowed Moutet to pass.
At a game score of 5-5 in the end, Nagal’s unsteady nerves caused him to miss several forehand errors and thus lose the break, which then enabled Moutet, who then comfortably served out the match.
Bopanna and Balaji’s Doubles Dream Shattered
Later in the same day, the experienced team Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji went to the tennis court and played in the half-doubles event, confronting the French pair of Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Gael Monfils.
The Indian pair, despite the bolder struggle, failed with a score of 5-7, 2-6. The match had a lot of faith as it seemed that it would be the 44-year-old Bopanna’s last appearance as the representative of India in a multi-sport event since he had already declared his retirement from the Davis Cup .
The doubles match was a physical one, mainly executed through the baseline matches, where Bopanna’s powerful ball strikes opposed the tactical play of the French duo.
However, the French team became upbeat as the participation of Monfils, who subbed for the injured Fabien Reboul, was confirmed at the last minute, and they followed a perfect strategy to paralyze the Indian attack. With the help of the long rallies they made Bopanna do, the French players prevented Balaji, the doubles debutant, from actively involved, thus thwarting the Indians from making the kills on the net they were so anxious to make.
During the opening frame of the match, Bopanna and Balaji (0-40) lost their rhythmic serve in the sixth game, taking long and uncoordinated routes with their Indian team partners that resulted in an unfortunate error.
The inexperienced duo managed to reciprocate then, but Balaji’s nervousness was evident when serving at 5-6 to last in the set. Having problems with his first serves, a double fault came through, and consequently, he lost the game, granting the first set to the French team.
Bopanna and Balaji were unable to mount a comeback in the second set. Bopanna failed to handle the French players’ powerful strokes, and Balaji’s serve was broken in the beginning.
The match concluded on an unpleasant note, with the Indian pair committing an unforced error, eventually sending them out of the tournament.
The Campaign Which Left a Bitter after the Exploration of New Hope
India’s tennis stars at the 2024 Paris Olympics went home earlier than expected, a real shocker for a country with a rich tradition in the sport. India’s tally counts in its tennis collection just a single medal however it is history laden as it is a bronze colored one, which was bagged by the legendary Leander Paes in the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The expectations of adding to the count were on a higher note, especially with the experience of a player like Bopanna involved still, it didn’t come about.
For Nagal, this loss hits him the hardest as it, yet again, is a chance missed for him to make a mark on the Olympic stage. His performance, although admirable, brings attention to the problems he still has when it comes to ending close matches.
It was not only the match with Moutet that was difficult for Nagal, as he had trouble in a three-set high-stakes contest. Their previous face-offs have also been quite tough matches, but Nagal had won the last one in Marrakech earlier this year.
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Nagal’s failure to make the necessary changes to his game plan against Moutet, for instance, the absurd tactics like using underarm serves and drop shots, was the reason he lost. The “Coco-Coco” and “Moutet-Moutet” chants from the audience made the pressure even more unbearable, but the young Indian’s experience in managing such situations will, for sure, help him in the future.
As for Bopanna, this match might be one of the last tennis final to be played by a senior member of Indian tennis. Besides being one of the oldest doubles players in the game, Bopanna has been an integral part of Indian tennis for over 20 years.
His departure earlier this year from the Davis Cup marked the beginning of the dark days of his long, impressive career, and this early exit from the Olympics might be his last appearance on the world stage. Despite the fact that Mr. Bopanna’s destiny is clear with numerous titles and accolades in addition to the Grand Slam dubs he won in mixed doubles.
The Paris Olympic lawn tennis tournament may have ended disappointingly for the Indian tennis stars, but the odyssey is far from concluded. Just as the emotive force of the defeat will reinforce their resolve, their Olympic stage exposure will be the cornerstone of their future success. While the nation commemorates this campaign, the priority will wholly move to kid nurturing, which will always make India an unbeatable power in the tennis world.
References:
https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/sports/2024/07/29/oly4-spo-oly-ind-3rd-ld-tennis.html
https://swabhimaniodia.in/indias-tennis-campaign-ends-in-single-day-at-paris-olympics/