Nagal eases to Chennai Open title, set to enter top-100

PTI

Chennai, February 11

India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal today won his fifth Challenger-level singles title, outplaying Italian Luca Nardi in the final of the Chennai Open — an achievement which will propel him into the top-100 for the first time in his career.

Nagal’s 6-1 6-4 win is likely to take him to 98 when the fresh rankings will be issued tomorrow. Nagal has been in tremendous form as he won the Chennai Open without dropping a set.

Nagal will be first Indian to feature in the singles top-100 since left-handed Prajnesh Gunneswaran made the cut in 2019.

I’m very emotional. You know, every tennis player’s dream is to be top-100 at least. And like I said earlier, to win this match in front of the home crowd, I don’t think I could have asked for a better place. —Sumit Nagal

“I’m very emotional. You know, every tennis player’s dream is to be top-100 at least,” Nagal said. “And like I said earlier, to win this match in front of the home crowd, I don’t think I could have asked for a better place,” he added.

“I don’t think there were words, everyone was crying. Less words, more tears. I’m still very emotional. It was a very tough last year being ranked 500, getting surgery done, not having financial support. A lot of ups and downs, you know. And I’m very happy that I found a way to push every single day and give myself a chance to be here,” he added.

Nagal also hoped this win will inspire aspiring athletes to pursue a career in singles tennis. “We’d love to see more people playing the Slams, but I hope this win can push more people to pursue career in singles as well,” he said.

It has been a terrific start to the season for the 26-year-old, who qualified for the Australian Open main draw and knocked out top-30 player Alexander Bublik in the first round.

“I am happy with the way I am controlling myself and the zone I am in. I think it is very important for a tennis player because sport is very important. Once you step on the court, it is just you. And if you are not in the right mindset, or if you are not seeing the right things, it is very tough to change things on the court,” he said. — PTI

Karan, Mukund lose in singles qualifiers

Bengaluru: Indian tennis players endured a tough day at the Bengaluru Open as five players made early exits from the men’s singles qualifying event. While 20-year-old Karan Singh fought his heart out against second seed Dan Added of France before losing 6-7(3) 7-5 6-7(9), Sasikumar Mukund fell 4-6 3-6 to fourth seed Vincent Ruggeri of Italy. Niki Poonacha exited the event with a 3-6 4-6 defeat against top seed Bernard Tomic of Australia.

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