Sumit Nagal of India performs a backhand return to Shang Juncheng of China throughout their second spherical match on the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Sumit Nagal’s profession has been a narrative of struggles, accidents, defeats, and some successes alongside the way in which.
For the Indian, all of it started right here, in a approach. In February final yr, he reached the semifinals of the ATP Challenger as a wild card entry in qualifying. That efficiency gave him the required momentum to restart his profession another time. He went on to win a Challenger in April 2023 in Rome — turning into the primary Indian to win on European clay.
When the 26-year-old returns to town to tackle a qualifier in the principle draw of the Chennai Open right here on Tuesday, he want to do one higher because the second seed. However, as at all times, the quintessential skilled mentioned he’s specializing in one match at a time.
“It’s nice to play a Challenger in Chennai. It’s a privilege to play at dwelling. I performed in qualifying final time right here and this time in the principle draw. I’m trying ahead to it,” he mentioned. “Enjoying in opposition to a qualifier will likely be powerful as they’ve already had a style of the situations,” he added.
Sumit turned the primary Indian since Ramesh Krishnan in 1989 to beat a seeded participant in a singles principal draw of a Grand Slam, when he defeated Alexander Bublik within the first spherical of the Australian Open final month.
After a number of hectic weeks, Sumit mentioned it’s good to be again at dwelling. “I used to be at dwelling for a number of days, took some days off as my physique was drained. Now it’s again to the routine. I’ve been practising for the previous couple of days,” mentioned the Indian, ranked a career-high 121 on the planet.
After making waves in Melbourne, Sumit will need to proceed his good run in a metropolis which has been a fortunate mascot for him.
