16 the one, 2024, 8:05 PM ET
Tennis is full of stories. Some happy, some sad. Many times they happen on the field and other times, off. This story has a little of all of this. The protagonist? Sumit Nagal.
Nagal was born in India and started playing tennis when he was eight years old: “My goal is to do very well, so that people don’t say that India is only good at cricket. I want to be the leader in this.”
Currently, he is No. 137 in the ATP ranking and is being one of the great sensations in the world. Australian Open. He passed the three rounds of qualification and in the first match of the main draw he defeated the Kazakh Alexander Bublik (No. 27) by 6-4, 6-2 and 7-6 (5).
Sumit Nagal and an unforgettable day at Melbourne Park. Getty Images
This victory is more than special for several reasons. He became the first Indian to defeat a seed in a Grand Slam since 1989 and also secured more than 109,000 euros.
But to understand the importance of this last point, we must remember his confession from just four months ago: “If I look at my money in the bank I have 900 euros. What I earn, I invest. I don’t have any big sponsors, I don’t have anything saved. “It’s just enough for me to support myself.”
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Throughout his career, Nagal reached No. 122 in the world ranking (2020) and his best performance in ATP tournaments occurred in Buenos Aires. In the 2021 season, they reached the quarterfinals after overcoming the qualy and beat Joao Sousa and Cristian Garin in the first two rounds. Albert Ramos-Viñolas was the one who put an end to his dream in that Argentine tournament.
But that same year a hip operation could have removed him from tennis. However… after the storm, the sun always comes out. “Never stop believing. That’s the reason I play. “Everyone dreams of being in a certain place and I never lost that belief.”
After a complicated 2023, with injuries in between, the new year welcomed him in an unbeatable way. A no small fact is that he has already earned more money in one month of the season than in the entire previous campaign.
“I am very excited. I’m not crying now because I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. “I have worked very hard with my team and I am very proud of myself for being able to handle the things I am going through and being able to perform the way I want to,” he commented at a press conference after his great success.
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Nagal will want to continue dreaming in Australian territory. For now, a new challenge awaits him in the second round: the Chinese Juncheng Shang (N°140).
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2024-01-17 02:00:04
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