Regardless of Nagal’s sturdy baseline sport, Moutet’s versatile and trendy method proved an excessive amount of for the Indian, as the house favorite secured a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 victory in two hours and 28 minutes on Court docket 7 at Roland Garros.
This was Nagal’s second look on the Olympic Video games, having beforehand misplaced to Daniil Medvedev within the second spherical on the Tokyo Video games.
In Paris, he began slowly, dropping the opening set, however bounced again to degree the match by claiming the second set. The decider noticed Nagal take an early 2-Zero lead with a break of serve, however Moutet’s resilience and selection in the end proved decisive as he clawed his manner again to safe the win.
The encounter was a typical battle of attrition between the 2 gamers, with three of their final 4 conferences going the space. Nagal had emerged victorious of their most up-to-date conflict on the Grand Prix of Hassan in Marrakech earlier this yr.
Moutet’s unconventional techniques, together with frequent underarm serves and efficient use of drop pictures, slices, and angles, stored Nagal off-balance all through the match. The Frenchman’s artistic shot-making and the vociferous house crowd assist added to the problem for Nagal.
Whereas Nagal acknowledged Moutet’s expertise and the issue of their matches, he expressed disappointment together with his personal efficiency in the direction of the top, citing too many unforced errors as the first purpose for his defeat.
“He is among the most gifted gamers we’ve on the ATP tour. It is all the time a troublesome match in opposition to him. It has by no means been a straight set win for both him or me. At this time was one other nice match. Clearly, I did not like the best way I ended the match, getting damaged at 15 after which him holding at love. I’d say, too many errors in the direction of the top. That is one of many issues that I would love to vary,” Nagal informed PTI after the defeat.
Regardless of Nagal’s efforts to remain within the match, Moutet’s means to disrupt the rhythm and his resilience in essential moments in the end proved decisive.
The victory units up an intriguing second-round encounter for Moutet in opposition to both Australian world quantity six Alex de Minaur or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, as he goals to proceed his run on the Paris Olympics.
