Monte Carlo (France): Top Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal made a winning start at the Monte Carlo Masters as he defeated world number 63 Flavio Coboli of Italy in straight sets in the qualifiers here on Saturday.
The unseeded 95th-ranked Indian registered a 6-2, 6-3 win over eighth seed Koboli.
Nagal will now face the winner of two Argentine players - Facundo Dia Acosta and Diego Schwartzman - in his final qualifier.
While Acosta is ranked 55th and is seeded third, Schwartzman is ranked 124th and is a wild card entrant into the tournament.
Seven qualifiers will be entered into the main round.
Nagal has been in the news since making it to the main draw of the Australian Open in January, where he defeated Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan before exiting in the second round.
He then emerged victorious at the Chennai Open before playing two more Challenger tournaments, including one ATP 500 event (the Dubai Championships) and two ATP 1000 Masters (Indian Wells and Miami).
Since his Chennai win, Nagal has reached the semi-finals only during the Bengaluru Challenger.
Meanwhile, world number one pair of Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden (top seed) will also compete in the tournament.
The unseeded 95th-ranked Indian registered a 6-2, 6-3 win over eighth seed Koboli.
Nagal will now face the winner of two Argentine players - Facundo Dia Acosta and Diego Schwartzman - in his final qualifier.
While Acosta is ranked 55th and is seeded third, Schwartzman is ranked 124th and is a wild card entrant into the tournament.
Seven qualifiers will be entered into the main round.
Nagal has been in the news since making it to the main draw of the Australian Open in January, where he defeated Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan before exiting in the second round.
He then emerged victorious at the Chennai Open before playing two more Challenger tournaments, including one ATP 500 event (the Dubai Championships) and two ATP 1000 Masters (Indian Wells and Miami).
Since his Chennai win, Nagal has reached the semi-finals only during the Bengaluru Challenger.
Meanwhile, world number one pair of Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden (top seed) will also compete in the tournament.
