It will be amazing for Sumit Nagal to play against Roger Federer: Mahesh Bhupathi

Two Indian men’s singles players in a Grand Slam main draw are a rarity. So rare, that the last time it happened Roger Federer was still five years away from his first Major title and out of the top-100 in ATP ranking.

That was in 1998 when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi competed at the Wimbledon. Sumit Nagal, with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Brazil’s Joao Menezes in the final round of qualifiers on Friday night, ensured that the wait was over. He along with Prajnesh Gunneswaran would be India’s representatives in the men’s singles starting on Monday.

The journey from here on only gets harder for Nagal who has been drawn against third seed Federer in the first round. Gunneswaran too has a tough opponent in fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati Masters recently on way to the title.

“He (Nagal) has worked very hard after his injury so it’s good to see him back at this level. It’s going to be an amazing experience for him to play Roger at a night match in NYC. It’s a major boost and stepping stone in his young career,” Mahesh Bhupathi, India’s Davis Cup captain, told HT. It was in a development programme that Bhupathi started in 2008 that Nagal first received specialised tennis coaching.

The 22-year-old Nagal shifted base to Canada in 2010 and then to Germany in 2014 for tennis training. He won the 2015 junior Wimbledon doubles title with Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam and in 2017 won his first major Challenger title at the Bengaluru Open.

But success did not follow soon as he was down with a shoulder injury and indifferent form saw his ranking drop to 349 at the start of this year. But five semi-final entries in Challenger events in the last seven months have ensured he entered the top-200.

Nagal (world No 190) is currently the No 3 among Indians after Gunneswaran (world No 89) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (world No 177).

The US Open main draw entry will improve his ranking further and ensure a minimum prize money of $58,000.

“I started the year around 350 in rankings. The journey has been great as I am going to be around 170 now. This has been my best year, playing good tennis, staying as healthy as possible. Recovering from the shoulder injury was crucial for me. Enjoying being on the court, against good players,” Nagal said from New York.

“It’s an amazing experience facing a player like him (Federer) who has done so much in tennis. I am looking forward to the match.”

Nagal has become only the fifth Indian male player to feature in a Grand Slam singles main draw in this decade. Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni and Prajnesh Gunneswaran are the only Indians who played at singles Majors singles 2010.

For India’s other singles player, Gunneswaran this will be the fourth Grand Slam this year. He has lost in the first round of the earlier three Grand Slams. A runner-up finish at the ATP Challenger Kunming Open in China in April was the 30-year-old’s best finish this year so far.