Sumit Nagal has said he wants to add more dimensions to his game, and he is itching for matches.
Having made a direct entry into the US Open which the top ten players have opted out, the Indian number one tennis player will play an ATP Challenger on outdoor clay in Prague from August 17 to 23 before jetting to New York for the Grand Slam that will be starting on August 31,
Nagal, who is ranked 127th in the world, has stayed locked at his training base in Peine, Germany, since early March. During the process, he had played outside in open or club-level tournaments. He won one of them a month ago in Pinneberg, after beating German professional Daniel Masur in the final and he made it to the semifinals of another in Basel.
So, all that is left for the 22-year-old is to fly to Prague on Thursday, where he will connect a flight to the US after the tournament to play in the second major draw of his career.
Excited over the development, Nagal acknowledged that the situation where he made it to the main draw the first time wasn’t the same as now, said he would do the right things which are in his hand.
It could be recalled that Nagal bowed to Roger Federer in the first round last year. Although he is not a fan of faster hard courts, he loves the vibe of New York City.
After playing in the Australian Open’s qualifying draw in January, Nagal promised to play freely before returning to Europe and his beloved clay.
Nagal, also based in Germany, has been working on his German in recent months, is one of the things he has added to his game.
Another one is the dimension to his serve and fitness work that he said has been regular. He added that he has been doing yoga alongside his usual speed, strength, and endurance practice.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed