New Delhi, Feb 17 (NationPress) India’s leading player Sumit Nagal progressed to the second round in the men’s singles category at the Delhi Open 2026. The tournament witnessed a significant upset as the top seed, Dane Sweeny from Australia, fell to Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev in the opening round.

Nagal triumphed over David Jorda Sanchis from Spain, keeping local aspirations alive at the ATP Challenger 75 event, which is currently in its sixth edition at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi. The finals are set for February 22, featuring 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams vying for the championship.

Ranked No. 297 globally, Nagal broke Spain’s Sanchis in the first game of the initial set, maintaining his edge to clinch it 6-3. The second set was more fiercely contested, with both players holding serve until Nagal achieved a crucial break in the 11th game, ultimately winning 6-3, 7-5 within one hour and 27 minutes.

“I’m really pleased with this win. It’s my first victory here in Delhi, which has been a long time coming in my matches,” Nagal expressed. “Playing at home feels fantastic. The crowd was incredible, and I’m excited for my next match on Thursday.”

Unfortunately for the Indian team, Nagal’s win was the only bright spot in singles, as Manas Dhamne (18 years old), qualifier Manish Sureshkumar, and wildcard participant Digvijay Singh all exited their opening matches after close straight-set defeats.

In a surprising turn, Kazakhstan’s Zhukayev, ranked No. 292, achieved the tournament's biggest upset by overcoming top seed and World No. 134 Dane Sweeny after losing the first set, eventually winning 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2.

Sweeny entered the competition following a strong start to the 2026 season, having reached the second round at the Australian Open and secured an ATP Challenger 75 title in Brisbane.

Second seed Rei Sakamoto advanced to the Round of 16 by defeating Chennai Open champion Frederico Ferreira Silva with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

Third seed Jay Clarke from Great Britain also moved forward with a challenging 7-6, 6-4 win against Polish qualifier Maks Kasnikowski, marking his first victory of the season.

“This is really encouraging. It’s my first match win this year,” Clarke stated post-victory. “I’ve been competing well, especially towards the end of last year, but results haven’t fully materialized at the beginning of this year. I’m very happy. Max is a quality player; I lost to him a couple of years back.”

The 22-year-old Pole had reached the semi-finals of the Chennai Open last week and won two matches in qualifying to enter the main draw. Despite Clarke’s seeding advantage, he was fully aware of the challenge ahead.

“There are very fine margins between being seeded and Max, who was around 160 in the world last year. The margins are quite slim, especially with Max coming through qualifiers. Perhaps he was slightly fatigued today, but I don’t focus too much on seeding. It’s nice to be seeded as it reflects a good year leading up to the tournament, but one must be ready as no match is easy,” he added.

Nagal aspires to become the first Indian singles champion at the Delhi Open since Somdev Devvarman, the only Indian to have won the singles title in the tournament’s history, having secured back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. India has also seen all-Indian doubles champions twice in the past, with Saketh Myneni/Sanam Singh and Yuki Bhambri/Mahesh Bhupathi lifting the trophy in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

This tournament, as part of the ATP Challenger 75 series, will award 75 ranking points to the singles and doubles champions, 44 points to the singles runner-up, and 50 points to the doubles runners-up. The singles champion will receive $17,000 in prize money, while the runner-up will earn $9,600. The doubles champions will share $4,980, while the runners-up will split $2,880.

Day 3 Results (until 6 PM IST)

Men’s Singles Main Draw - First Round

Beibit Zhukayev (KAZ) d. [1] Dane Sweeny (AUS) 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2

[2] Rei Sakamoto (JPN) d. Frederico Ferreira Silva (POR) 6-2, 6-2

[3] Jay Clarke (GBR) d. [Q] Maks Kasnikowski (POL) 7-6, 6-4

[8] Rio Noguchi (JPN) d. [WC] Manas Dhamne (IND) 7-5, 6-4

Sumit Nagal (IND) d. [Alt] David Jorda Sanchis (ESP) 6-3, 7-5

Alastair Gray (GBR) d. [Q] Hyeon Chung (KOR) 6-0, 7-6 (6)

Petr Bar Biryukov d. [WC] Digvijaypratap Singh (IND) 6-3, 6-4

Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) d. [PR] Philip Sekulic (AUS) 6-4, 7-5

[PR] Ilya Ivashka d. [Alt] Sanhui Shin (KOR) 6-3, 6-3

[Q] Alexandr Binda (ITA) d. [Q] Denis Yevseyev (KAZ) 6-7 (7), 6-1, 6-2

Stefanos Sakellaridis (GRE) d. [Q] Manish Sureshkumar (IND) 6-4, 7-5