Roger Federer h words of praise for his opponent Sumit Nagal who won hearts as he played brilliantly going down against legendary tennis player in US Open. "Credit to him manner he played," said Roger Federer on Nagal after his 4-set victory. fighting spirit shone through in Nagal's dream Grand Slam debut as he took a set off iconic Roger Federer before fizzling out at game. In much-anticipated clash, 22-year old from Jhajjar lost 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-4 after giving a glimpse of his talent at Arthur Ashe Stium on Monday night.

Federer's praise for Sumit Nagal

"It was a tough first set for me. He played pretty strong so credit to him. I was missing a lot of balls so I was trying to cut down unforced errors. Hopefully it will get better," he said. "I was rusty, I will shake it off," said Federer.

Did t confuse Nagal for Nal: Roger Federer

Swiss let out a firm "" when asked if he felt for a second that it was 'Nal' and t 'Nagal' if name of his rival on scoreboard h a 'D' inste of a 'G'.  "Did you ever look up at scoreboard and think you were playing Nal and t Nagal?" Roger Federer said, "." "For you guys and social media, it is," he quipped.

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Nagal's proud moment by winning set against Roger Federer

Nagal became only fourth Indian to win a set in main draw of a Grand Slam in last 20 years. What me it special was that it came against Federer, a colossal figure with 20 Grand Slams to his credit. Only Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni have mand to win a set in a Grand Slam main draw before Nagal, in last two deces.Nagal, who me main draw through qualifying, returns from US Open t only richer by USD 58,000 but also with experience of what it takes to compete at biggest st. 

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Sumit Nagal wins crowd at US Open

Federer endured a shaky start to match but for Nagal it was best he would have felt on a tennis court. Indian stunned crowd by breaking Federer's serve in third game with Swiss committing a double fault on second breakpoint. While a "rusty" Federer was still measuring up his newest rival, ranked 190 in ATP charts, Nagal, with his deep returns, was setting up winners -- some eye-catching inside-out forehands. While many would t have expected such a sight, Nagal furr shocked crowd when he broke Federer for second time and served out set after being down 0-30.

Hitting deep returns and going for his shots fearlessly and t allowing Federer to come on to net were key to Nagal's first-set exploits even as Swiss struggled to contain his unforced errors. Federer h 19 unforced errors to 9 of Nagal in opener. anticipation grew but Federer shook off rustiness to dismantle Nagal's game after that. He began serving well, if t his best, and dictated play with his strong returns, killing points at will at net.

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Roger Federer beats Sumit Nagal

In time, he zoomed to a 5-0 le in second set and served it out in seventh but t before Nagal h saved six set points and also earned two break chances.​​​​​​​ Nagal was still fighting but Federer was too hot to handle. pattern remained same in third and fourth sets with Nagal getting a good point here and re but it was largely one-way traffic. 20-time Grand Slam Champion came out to serve match in 10th but was down 0-40 with Nagal making some solid returns. After saving five breakpoints, Federer closed match with a strong serve on Nagal's backhand.

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(With PTI Inputs)