Top-100 dream realised, Sumit Nagal eyes Olympic glory next

Bengaluru: His dream of being inside the global top-100 has been realised but Sumit Nagal is nowhere close to being a content man as the Indian tennis ace says he now faces the challenge of improving or holding on to his standing for direct entry into the Grand Slams and the Paris Olympics.

Nagal's victory in the recent Chennai Open propelled him to a career-high world No. 98, and he is the first Indian to achieve the feat since Prajnesh Gunneswaran did that in 2019.

"Every tennis player dreams about being in the top 100. I have dreamt about being in the top 100 from a very young age and it felt very good when it happened. It was certainly an emotional day after working for years," Nagal told PTI in an interview after his first-round win in the Bengaluru Open on Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old, who is seeded second here, entered the second round of the tournament with a breezy 6-2, 6-2 win over Frenchman Geff Blancaneaux.

But he is not ready to rest on his laurels and has set his eyes on bigger achievements.

"Yes, it was a big moment (entering the top 100). But now I am in a new tournament, you know, tennis, you need to take it week by week. So, emotions have come down now. While in Bangalore I am focusing on this tournament.

"But the real goal is to go and represent my country in the Olympics. It's one of my goals, and it really motivates me and I really want to play the Olympics, and take a medal back for the country," he said.

The top 56 players in the ATP (men) and WTA (women) rankings, as of June 10 this year, will get direct qualification for the July-August Paris Games provided the number per country does not exceed four.

Entries would be permitted from outside the top 56 for countries that have less than four automatic qualifiers.

The remaining eight slots of the 64-strong draw would be reserved for continental champions (4), previous Olympic gold-medallists or Grand Slam champions (2), host nation (1) and Universality (1).

Nagal would have a good chance of making it if he could add some more good results to his record.

Staying inside the top 100 will have another benefit for the Haryana-born lad as he would no longer need to wait for qualifiers or wildcards to enter the main draw of Grand Slams.

Last month, he made the Australian Open main draw through qualifiers and defeated the then world No. 31 Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the first round.

"Yeah, that's a big positive (being in the top 100). That's why every player wants to be inside the top 100 because you want to play in the Grand Slams," he said.

"So, if I can do that, and keep my ranking up and inside the top 100, that will be very good for me as we are fast approaching the French Open season," he added.

Not long ago, Nagal was struggling to attract sponsors and was left with a meagre USD 900 in his bank account.

But being in the top 100 is set to fetch him more money from the ATP Players' Fund, which will go a long way in helping him meet his expenses on the Tour.

"It is a big help to be in the top 100 financially. That's one of the reasons why players want to be in the top 100 because the money allocation is higher as per your ranking points, and it helps you throughout the year," he explained.

"I am no different here. I would love to, you know, keep pushing and stay in the top 100 rankings where I can get myself a chance to play in the Slams and also take the benefits that come along with it," said Nagal.

He might be in a good space after his exploits in the Australian Open and three Challenger titles in the past nine months but Nagal says he can never forget the massive struggle he endured in the last couple of years.

He had to stay away from tennis for six months following hip surgery and also saw his rankings plummet to 638 by the end of 2022.

Nagal said those tough times instilled a lot of determination in him.

"I have always spoken highly about having a good team and having good friends around you, family too because the summers of 2021 and 2022 were the toughest in my life. I'm very glad that I had those people around me so that I could get out of that dark zone or hole," he recalled.

"They helped me keep my mindset simple, focusing on the present and not worrying too much about the future. They were telling me just go to a court and start hitting the balls and 'you will be better', and that's exactly what I did," he elaborated.

Nagal's confidence was evident through the opening round fixture against Blancaneaux here at the KSLTA courts last night.

"Nothing to complain about, to be honest, and I am feeling good and motivated. I am just eager to continue to play in this manner for the coming week and months," he signed off.