New Delhi, 9 January (H.S.): Sumit Nagal, the only Indian player in the singles category at the Australian Open 2025, got a tough draw on Thursday.

World number 96 Nagal will face 26th seeded Czech player Tomas Machak in the opening round in Melbourne. The two players have never faced each other. A win over Machak means he may have to face big-serving American player Reilly Opelka in the second round.

The Indian player is in the same section of the draw as 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

24-year-old Machak won the gold medal in mixed doubles with Katerina Siniakova at the Paris Olympics. He reached his first tour-level final in Geneva and also defeated four-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters last year.

Nagal had a great performance last year. He started the Australian Open as a qualifier and defeated 31st seed Alexander Bublik in straight sets. Nagal became the first Indian man to beat a seeded player in the main draw of a Grand Slam in 35 years. The last player to do so before Nagal was Ramesh Krishnan, who defeated top seed Mats Wilander at the Australian Open in 1989.

Nagal won two Challenger Tour titles and also made his ATP Top 100 debut. He represented India at the Olympics and also got direct entry into the other three majors.

Nagal has never been able to go beyond the second round in a major tournament.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar