Sumit Nagal stormed into the men’s singles main draw of the Australian Open on Friday. Playing his final qualifying match, the 122 ranked Nagal was in rip-roaring form as he defeated Slovakia’s Alex Molcan, 6-4, 6-4.
“Yeah, it’s a proud feeling,” an excited Nagal told RevSportz on his voyage and return to the Grand Slam arena. “I have worked very hard to be here. It is never fun for any tennis player to have a start and stop (career) but I guess I had no choice than to fight through this,” said Nagal, happy to be back in the elite zone.
Competing in the heat of Melbourne has not been easy. Ideally, had the All India Tennis Association nominated him for a wild card, it may have been easier. But then, the fighter that Nagal is, he flew to Australia to try his luck in the qualifying phase.
Nagal has earned praise from tennis fans as well as Rohan Bopanna, who took to X (Twitter) to back the singles soldier of Indian tennis. Twenty-six-year-old Nagal has dealt with extreme hardships in his career and went almost bust last year.
He had to dip into his savings to ensure he stayed afloat. Like a sudden gift, when Gatorade came on board as a sponsor, Nagal got a fresh life when he was in Hangzhou, China for the Asian Games. His strong showing on clay in the Challenger events last year was proof the fire is still there.
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.#AFCAsianCup2023 is set to begin today while Team India will be in action tomorrow against Australia in their opening fixture!
Both @Rahul_01Giri and @Swapnil_0114 have reached Qatar and will share all the latest updates regarding Team India and other matches.
Let’s watch a… pic.twitter.com/mwTUIz7rnm
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 12, 2024
The big deal has happened Down Under. “I am playing tournaments, getting to practice the way I wanted and able to compete. These years (as a player) have made me stronger and smarter on the court. So, I guess, it worked out well for me. Haha, just kidding but yeah I worked very hard with Sascha (Nensel) and Milos to be here,” said Nagal. On Friday, he was busy, flooded with calls to celebrate his success, even as he was trying to tuck into an early dinner.
For someone who faced extreme hardship last year, the revival in his career is no fluke. There was despondency when he left for the Asian Games last year. At that time, he told this writer: “Top players have a full entourage with them, I do not even have the basic support staff.”
Times have changed. Gatorade funding Nagal has been well-timed. “I wanna take a minute to say thanks to them, to my family and friends and to my sponsors for always believing in me,” said an emotional Nagal.
Way back in 2019, Sumit Nagal had taken a set off Roger Federer in the US Open first round. Those days, he was able to train in Germany as he was supported by the Virat Kohli Foundation. Once the Covid pandemic broke out, Nagal was in deep trouble. No tournaments, savings wiped out, and the boy from Jhajjar in Haryana went through hell.
That 2023 was one more breakthrough year is testimony to his attitude in life.
“Conditions are changing day by day, very hot today but was nice to play the last few days. As regards the main draw match in Melbourne, I will be doing everything in order to get ready for it and take it from there,” added an excited Nagal.
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