London, Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal feels he had the momentum in the third set of his Wimbledon first-round tie against top-ranked Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, but his relative inexperience on grass cost him the match.
The 26-year-old Indian, who will participate in his second Olympic Games in less than a month, lost the first Wimbledon men's singles match to Kecmanovic, ranked 19 places above him, in a four-set marathon that lasted almost three and - half an hour.
Nagal lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
The 71st-ranked Jhajjar, who reached the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time, won the second set to tie, but the 52nd-ranked Serb won the next two to advance.
"This is my first main draw at Wimbledon and playing on grass is not easy; it takes a bit of experience. But I think I did everything I could, I fought hard. I felt like I could have served better and there were a few things here and there in the match I could have done better," Nagal told Star Sports.
"Later in the third set, the momentum shifted towards me. I think, like I said, if I could have broken him at 5-3, with him serving, I think the match could have changed in a fun way."
He said the SW19 experience was unforgettable.
"It was a great experience. Obviously, when you play for three, three and a half hours, you always feel like 'this could have been done or that.' But like I said, if I could have changed things in the third set, I would have really liked it." (break the opponent at 5-3).
Nagal said that his goal is to continue moving up the rankings and that he hopes to have a good show at the Paris Olympics, where he will have to move to the clay courts.
"I keep moving up the rankings. There are some goals I need to accomplish, and that will be one of them: keep moving up the rankings.
"Now I will return to clay to prepare for Paris. I am looking forward to it; it will be my second Olympic Games and I am very, very excited about it."
Nagal, who was ranked 160th during the Tokyo Olympics, had lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi also pointed out that Nagal should have taken advantage of half-chances.
"Everyone is disappointed, but he's had a great year, he's played high-quality tennis. That guy is a good player and he had his chances in the third set and that's how it is. In events like this, you have to take risks, Otherwise, you will lose."
Former Davis Cup player Zeeshan Ali said that Nagal should not be disappointed because he gave his opponent a difficult time.
"I feel like Sumit shouldn't be too discouraged by this loss because he played a very good match. He played an incredibly good second set and had a lot of chances.
"Looking ahead, I think he definitely needs to prepare better to play in a tournament like Wimbledon, maybe play a couple of matches before the Wimbledon main draw starts, and that would definitely help him prepare better," Ali said.
The 26-year-old Indian, who will participate in his second Olympic Games in less than a month, lost the first Wimbledon men's singles match to Kecmanovic, ranked 19 places above him, in a four-set marathon that lasted almost three and - half an hour.
Nagal lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
The 71st-ranked Jhajjar, who reached the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time, won the second set to tie, but the 52nd-ranked Serb won the next two to advance.
"This is my first main draw at Wimbledon and playing on grass is not easy; it takes a bit of experience. But I think I did everything I could, I fought hard. I felt like I could have served better and there were a few things here and there in the match I could have done better," Nagal told Star Sports.
"Later in the third set, the momentum shifted towards me. I think, like I said, if I could have broken him at 5-3, with him serving, I think the match could have changed in a fun way."
He said the SW19 experience was unforgettable.
"It was a great experience. Obviously, when you play for three, three and a half hours, you always feel like 'this could have been done or that.' But like I said, if I could have changed things in the third set, I would have really liked it." (break the opponent at 5-3).
Nagal said that his goal is to continue moving up the rankings and that he hopes to have a good show at the Paris Olympics, where he will have to move to the clay courts.
"I keep moving up the rankings. There are some goals I need to accomplish, and that will be one of them: keep moving up the rankings.
"Now I will return to clay to prepare for Paris. I am looking forward to it; it will be my second Olympic Games and I am very, very excited about it."
Nagal, who was ranked 160th during the Tokyo Olympics, had lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi also pointed out that Nagal should have taken advantage of half-chances.
"Everyone is disappointed, but he's had a great year, he's played high-quality tennis. That guy is a good player and he had his chances in the third set and that's how it is. In events like this, you have to take risks, Otherwise, you will lose."
Former Davis Cup player Zeeshan Ali said that Nagal should not be disappointed because he gave his opponent a difficult time.
"I feel like Sumit shouldn't be too discouraged by this loss because he played a very good match. He played an incredibly good second set and had a lot of chances.
"Looking ahead, I think he definitely needs to prepare better to play in a tournament like Wimbledon, maybe play a couple of matches before the Wimbledon main draw starts, and that would definitely help him prepare better," Ali said.
