Indian tennis: Sumit Nagal – 'One side of brain was saying slide, other side was saying I'm scared'
Men’s tennis in India is at an interesting juncture. For years, there has been a steady decline, despite a few stand-out achievements along the way. Late last year was the first time since 2005 that no Indian singles player was ranked in the ATP top 300. It’s a streak that continues till this day. But as Sumit Nagal demonstrated over the course of the Indian Swing of ATP Challengers, a revival may not be far off.
Next Monday, when the ATP rankings are updated, Nagal will become the India No 1 singles player again. And it comes at the end of a lengthy spell where a series of injuries – and a hip surgery – kept him away from the sport. The man who was ranked as low as 638 in October is finding the rhythm again.
“The points that I have made in this month, I did not make last year. It’s a good start. I didn’t make any points in January; didn’t make many points last year,” said Nagal, who reached a career high of 122 in 2020, to Scroll
During the Indian Swing – three back-to-back Challenger events in Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune – Nagal picked up...
READ ON APP