How Sumit Nagal chipped his way to the grandest sporting stage

The first time Sumit Nagal announced himself on the big stage was when he won the junior boys doubles Wimbledon title in 2015. He turned pro later that year, but had largely remained under the radar. Recurring shoulder problems saw him spend more time off court than on it. Away, but quietly picking up the pieces to forge a career in the sport for himself.

At the US Open in 2019 though, his persistence saw him finally breakthrough. He went through the qualification rounds and earned a first round match – his first Grand Slam main draw match – against Roger Federer.

It was a match he had no hopes of winning. But in the way he unleashed the powerful forehand he had been working on since he was a teenager training in Canada, there was hope that Nagal would make it to the bigger stages in tennis.

And now he’s made his way into the biggest sporting extravaganza there is, representing India in the men’s singles draw at the Olympics in Tokyo, which begins on July 23.

It’s been a grind for the 23-year-old, but that’s the kind of style he enjoys. He likes the slugfests on court – his tireless running helps it. And when he finds an opening, he lets loose that forehand.

“He actually does a really good job, especially on the inside-out, how he gets around. That was impressive,” Federer had said of the Haryana-lad after their match.

A year later at the US Open again, he became the first Indian since Somdev Devvarman in 2013 to win a Grand Slam round. In the second round he played Dominic Thiem, yet again at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, and once again he brought the big gun – his forehand – to bother the Austrian who’d go on to win the event.

Nagal has been through the ups and downs of the tour. He’s faced rejection when he’s been denied entries into events when his ranking fell – including India’s only ATP 250 event in Pune in 2018 – when he was ranked 340.

Since then he’s gone on to reach as high as 122 in the world.

This year so far his form has dwindled, more so through the troubles of the pandemic-struck tour. But he did manage a strong run at the ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires. He went through three qualification round matches before beating then World No 22 Cristian Garin for a quarterfinal finish.

He’s chipped his way through to the grandest stages of tennis. And now that the world descends upon Tokyo, there’s a spot there waiting for him.

When will Sumit Nagal's Tokyo 2020 campaign begin?

Sumit Nagal will take on Denis Istomin in the first round of men's singles on July 24.