In a major upset of the day–top seed Dane Sweeny of Australia was knocked out in his opening-round match by Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev
India’s top-ranked player Sumit Nagal advanced to the second round of the men’s singles event at the 2026 Delhi Open at DLTA Complex on Tuesday. However, in a major upset of the day–top seed Dane Sweeny of Australia was knocked out in his opening-round match by Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev.
Nagal, ranked No. 297 in the world, broke Spain’s David Jorda Sanchis in the opening game of the first set and maintained his advantage to win 6-3. The second set proved more competitive, with both players holding serve until the Indian secured the decisive break in the 11th game and served out the match 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 27 minutes. “It’s my first win at DLTA Complex and I’m looking ahead to play my second match,“ Nagal said in post-match interaction.
Nagal will be aiming to become the first Indian singles winner at the Delhi Open since Somdev Devvarman, who remains the only home singles champion in the tournament’s history. Devvarman won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
But 18-year-old Manas Dhamne, qualifier Manish Sureshkumar and wildcard entrant Digvijay Singh lost their matches.
Kazakhstan’s Zhukayev, ranked No. 292 in the world, produced the biggest upset of the tournament. The 25-year-old came from a set down to beat top seed and World No. 134 Dane Sweeny 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-2. The Australian had entered the tournament after a strong start to the 2026 season, having reached the second round of the Australian Open, and winning an ATP Challenger 75 title in Brisbane.
Second seed Rei Sakamoto progressed to the round of 16 after defeating Chennai Open champion Frederico Ferreira Silva 6-2, 6-2 in the first round.
Great Britain’s Jay Clarke, the third seed, also advanced with a hard-fought 7-6, 6-4 win over Polish qualifier Maks Kasnikowski to register his first win of the season.
As part of the ATP Challenger 75 series, the tournament will award 75 ranking points to the singles and doubles champions, 44 points to the singles runner-up, and 50 points to the doubles runners-up.
The singles champion will receive $17,000 in prize money, with the runner-up earning $9,600. The doubles champions will split $4,980, while the runners-up will split $2,880.
EOM
