Two mighty challengers in the tennis world are all set to create some chaos on the courts of the ‘City of Peace’ in Switzerland. Argentina’s number one tennis player in singles events, Sebastian Baez takes on India’s Sumit Nagal in the R32 clash at the Geneva Open. Who has the upper hand in this exciting contest?

Both tennis stars have showcased some remarkable performances this year. Sumit Nagal’s incredible run this year helped him make a breakthrough into the Top 100 this year. Sebastian Baez on the other hand, has already won two titles this year. It will be interesting to see if he can grab a few more this year.

Sebastian Baez vs Sumit Nagal: Preview

Apart from winning two titles this year, Sebastian Baez has also reached an SF and a QF in his previous two tournaments. Baez last stepped onto the court at the R16 of the Italian Open against the world number nine. In that match, Hubert Hurkacz defeated Sebastian Baez by 5-7,7-6(4),6-4. The Argentinian hit just a single ace in the entire match and committed three double faults. His first serve win percentage was around 63% and it crept up to 68% on the second serve. He successfully converted three out of his six breakpoints in that match.

Sebastian Baez’s record in this season has been decent so far. He has hit fifty-nine aces and committed forty-six double faults in 2024. Baez has won 74% of his service games but it’s just 31% on his return games. Are these stats enough to keep him ahead of the Indian tennis star? Well, for that we need to check Nagal’s record for this season at first.

Sumit Nagal won the Challenger event in Chennai earlier this year and he reached the SF of the Challenger Bengaluru. After that, it has been a mix of good and bad runs for the Indian. He withdrew his name earlier from the Italian Open and was undergoing training at the Nensel Tennis Academy in Germany. Nagal made a comeback at the ATP Tour after almost a month-long gap at the Challenger Bordeaux in France. But he faced an early exit at the hands of the Frenchman, Harold Mayot in his first match.

Mayot defeated Nagal by 6-2,6-2 and Nagal failed to hit even a single ace in that match. He committed one double fault and his first serve win percentage was 39%. However, his second-serve win percentage was around 53% and Sumit Nagal could only convert one of his four breakpoints against Harold Mayot. Looking at his numbers from this season, Nagal has hit eighteen aces and committed eleven double faults. He has won 78% of his service games and 21% of his return games this season. But has Sumit Nagal met Harold Mayot in the Tour earlier?

Baez vs Nagal: Head-to-Head

Well, both the tennis stars haven’t met each other earlier on the tour. In fact, this will be the first time they will be competing in this tournament in Geneva. Sumit Nagal has never beaten a Top 20 opponent before in his career. Will this time be an exception at the 2024 Geneva Open?

Prediction: Baez to win this match in two sets

It’s the number 19 versus the number 93! Although Sumit Nagal has the potential to disrupt the equations on any given day. But defeating Sebastian Baez this year is a big challenge for even the finest of tennis players. Baez currently has a win-loss record of 20-11 this season, but Nagal has managed just a 3-5 scoreline this year. 

It will be Nagal’s robust shot-making skills from the back of the court versus 5ft 7 inches Sebastian Baez’s equally powerful groundstrokes. Both of them love to play an aggressive brand of tennis. Nagal hit his forehand with a lot of topspin while his backhands are a bit flat. Are these weapons enough to outclass Sebastian Baez? No, especially looking at the form the Argentine has been in this year.