In October 2022, slowed down by accidents and struggling to place wins collectively whereas grinding it out on the lower-rung Challenger Tour, Sumit Nagal’s ranking had slipped outdoors the highest 500.
This week, shortly after a first-round defeat on the ATP occasion in Geneva, 26-year-old Nagal, now a high 100 participant on the peak of his powers making ready for his first look on the French Open – the one Main that takes place on his most popular floor of clay – was contacted by Novak Djokovic’s staff for a observe session.
Nagal’s year-and-half-long journey from injury-induced obscurity and uncertainty, to being sought out by the best participant within the historical past of his sport for a coaching session, illustrates each the revival of his once-promising profession, and the lonely battle he continues to wage as the one constant Indian presence in top-level singles tennis.
Previous to his harm bother, Nagal’s promise as a younger participant coming by way of the ranks was evident in his earlier appearances on the Majors (even profitable a set off Roger Federer on the 2019 US Open). In the meantime, throughout his droop, no Indian participant even certified for the principle draw at a Grand Slam singles event for 3 years till he recovered and did so himself, at this 12 months’s Australian Open, the place he seized a uncommon probability to make nationwide headlines by changing into the primary Indian to beat a seeded participant at a Main since Ramesh Krishnan did so in 1989.
Sumit Nagal of India celebrates after defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan of their first spherical match on the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia. (AP | PTI)
Since then, Nagal has been on the up, profitable a Challenger occasion in Chennai after which making fundamental attracts of high tournaments – lately even changing into the primary Indian to win a fundamental draw match of a Masters 1000 occasion on clay in Monte Carlo, the place he took World No. 13 Holger Rune to a few powerful units.
In the course of the years Nagal spent on the sidelines, he wanted to imagine he would return to competing within the greatest tournaments on this planet to maintain going. “I knew this (time) would come,” he tells The Indian Express. “This was my greatest motivation as a result of if you end up injured, you need to look in direction of (a purpose) and have some imaginative and prescient in any other case it will get too onerous.”
Nagal goes into the French Open, beginning Sunday, and Wimbledon subsequent month, assured and in good type, hoping to place a run collectively.
Finest on clay
Whereas unimaginable to invest, maybe Nagal might not have been sought out by Djokovic’s staff had the French Open not been developing. The Indian’s finest floor is clay, which permits him to nullify a few of the weaknesses that include his brief stature, not permitting him to launch large first serves or generate simple energy.
As an alternative, it’s in his quick motion and strong defence, the place Nagal excels as primarily a baseliner. Clay doesn’t reward the facility recreation as a lot as onerous courts and grass, and permits Nagal to slip round and provides him that further time to get balls again into play.
“He’s an excellent mover,” Sania Mirza says throughout a media interplay. “Often, as folks from the subcontinent, that has not been our forte. Clay has not been the favorite floor of the gamers that come out of this area. However his motion, his fashion of play, his defence make him the hardest to face on clay. He’s essentially the most snug shifting on that floor.”
Sumit Nagal of India celebrates after defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan of their first spherical match on the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia. (AP | PTI)
Every of Sumit’s three Challenger titles outdoors of India have been on clay. Naturally then, after making a breakthrough in Monte Carlo in April, Nagal was anticipated to journey the momentum and enhance his rating even additional, however as a substitute needed to take one other break to nurse harm considerations.
Somdev Devvarman, a former high 70 participant, has labored with Nagal as a mentor and coach. He explains how the 26-year-old’s taking part in fashion – of relentless defensive grind from the baseline – helps him on clay, but in addition tends to make him harm inclined.
“These sorts of (harm) cycles will proceed with a participant like Sumit just because he has to work extremely onerous to win factors,” Devvarman tells The Indian Categorical. “He’s a smaller man on the tour. So he has to work extremely onerous to win factors. When he’s feeling nice, he’s very, very powerful to play. When he’s a little bit off, generally gamers really feel like they’ll get on high of him, possibly get on high of his serve.”
Essential high 100 spot
Nagal’s harm inclined streak has usually stopped him from sustaining momentum and surging up the rankings to take the following step in his profession. One of many many peculiarities of tennis is the significance of the ruthless 12-month-long rolling rankings system, figuring out the whole lot from taking part in and prize cash alternatives to possibilities of sponsorships and publicity.
Whereas his Australian Open run garnered essentially the most consideration, what has been most spectacular about Nagal’s 2024 season to this point is his consistency – doing effectively in Challengers and qualifying for ATP tournaments in an effort to crack the highest 100 within the rankings and momentarily keep there.
India’s Sumit Nagal shakes fingers with Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik after profitable his first spherical match. (Reuters)
Being within the high 100 carries heavy significance as a result of it ensures qualification to the principle draw of the 4 Majors that current incomes alternatives that may maintain gamers for a complete 12 months. Even when Nagal loses his first-round match at Roland Garros this week, he would have earned Rs 1.6 crore simply by way of his run on the Australian Open and in Paris. For a participant who complained of getting solely Rs 80,000 in his checking account final October, that’s an enormous quantity.
However being in and across the high 100 spots is one factor, making up a everlasting place there’s a lot trickier.
“The margin between making, say, $200,000 and $50,000 may be very small. It’s simply based mostly on rankings and, you recognize, you play two slams and also you’ve made $100,000. And also you’ve misplaced two remaining rounds of qualifying and also you’ve made 50,” Devvarman says.
“A variety of it’s timing based mostly, luck based mostly on accidents and issues like that. It’s a really tremendous line between being World No.55 and World No.95. When it comes to staying within the high 100, finally, it all the time comes right down to what your degree is. What are the issues which are pushing your degree? What are the issues that you simply’re enhancing daily? And the following time you step on the court docket, are you able to convey that degree again?”
Devvarman additionally insists that, whereas doing effectively at lower-level tournaments can preserve the specified rating, all gamers dream larger. “I believe for all of our tennis gamers, yeah, we need to win Challengers and all of that, however finally you need to do effectively on the greatest occasions on this planet,” he says.
Doing so on the French Open might be a tall order, and represents the following large hurdle. Unseeded gamers are on the mercy of the draw at tennis tournaments, and Nagal has been positioned to face 18th seed and final 12 months’s quarterfinalist Karen Khachanov within the first spherical this week.
However for Nagal to take the following step, his coach believes he should get these essential wins and go on a run in one in all these tournaments, and that “if you happen to have a look at his outcomes from final 12 months, you continue to assume that he’s in an excellent spot to make a run just about any time now.”
Don’t count on a sample
Nagal’s current achievements, modest however encouraging, might not have been of a world-beating normal, however they’ve been celebrated by followers of a considerably widespread sport, longing to look at it by way of an Indian lens.
Whereas Nagal’s 2024 season has ended a protracted, drawn-out interval of apathy amongst Indian tennis followers, there are not any indications that it’ll gentle a spark for up-and-coming gamers with the deeper malaise in Indian tennis persisting.
Nagal’s is a very distinctive case. Born in Jhajjar to a schoolteacher, he was noticed and supported in his early years by former Indian veteran Mahesh Bhupathi. He spent his youth coaching in Canada, then moved to Germany the place he’s at present based mostly, coaching at his coach Sascha Nensel’s academy.
India’s Sumit Nagal defeated former World No 38 Alex Molcan to enter the Australian Open fundamental draw. (PHOTO: Australian Open X)
Good timing, beneficiant benefactors and peaking on the proper time as a junior all enabled Nagal’s improvement, and even then he has confronted important monetary strife. Not everybody will get the identical possibilities.
“The primary recommendation you’ll give an excellent child that’s from India, can be to place your self in a greater surroundings,” Devvarman says. “The system in India is a joke, proper? It’s simply not conducive to participant improvement. And since it’s not conditioned to participant improvement, it’s the explanation why each participant desires to depart.”
“Sadly, the precise folks that younger gamers on this nation might be in search of should not in the precise locations. So proper now, if a promising younger child and their household are actually in search of recommendation or assist, they’ve obtained to do it the best way everyone else has completed it – on their very own. Determine it out themselves.”
With the present methods in place, there stays little hope for India to provide gamers that can play on the identical stage as constantly as Sumit has been lately. So hope, then, might be transferred to the 26-year-old to make the perfect of these possibilities.
(The French Open begins on Sunday, Might 26, dwell on the Sony Sports activities Community)