US Open draw: Sumit Nagal in line to face Dominic Thiem in second round; Gunneswaran misses cut
Prajnesh Gunneswaran will now move to Europe to prepare for the French Open, scheduled in September.
Top-ranked Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has been pitted against USA’s Bradley Klahn in the first round of the US Open after the men’s single’s draw took place on Thursday.
Due to withdrawals, Sumit Nagal got a direct entry to the US Open this time. The world No. 124 Indian had bowed out following a memorable clash against Roger Federer last time in New York.
Nagal comes to the US Open on the back of the Prague Challengers' where the Indian had stunned all by taking a set off Stan Wawrinka. The tournament was played on clay.
Klahn's last major match, however, was at the hard courts of Indian Wells against France's Maxime Janvier in March.
A first-round win for Sumit Nagal could see him face second-seeded Dominic Thiem. The Austrian continues to search for his maiden Grand Slam title after finishing runner-up three times. Thiem has a first-round clash against Jaume Munar of Spain.
The likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios have withdrawn from the tournament in New York.
No luck for Gunneswaran
An injury-plagued 2019 season meant Prajnesh Gunneswaran could do very little to improve his ranking before the pandemic further delayed his return to court.
The world No. 136, however, had travelled to New York hoping for withdrawals in the US open to get a late entry before the draws on Thursday. The Chennai-lad is going to miss a Grand Slam for the first time in over a year.
Gunneswaran, an Asian Games bronze medallist, will now travel to Europe to play in some clay-court tournaments before the French Open starts on September 27.
Djokovic handed easy US Open draw
World No.1 Novak Djokovic has been drawn against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and the Serbian’s first real challenge could come in as late as the fourth round, where home favourite and 16th seed John Isner is a potential opponent.
India will also see Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan competing in the doubles category. While Bopanna partners Denis Shapovalov, Sharan will travel to New York hoping to get a partner before the draw is made on August 31, the opening day of the competition.