CHENNAI: On the morning of December 17, Sumit Nagal’s ranking was World No 477. With the ITF restructuring the ATP Challenger Tour from this season, Nagal was a worried man. Considering the new rules were stacked against players ranked 300 and below, he may have been forgiven if he had contemplated a run in the ITF’s World Tour, the lowest rung in the circuit.
Fast forward nine months and one could make a genuine case for saying that the 22-year-old is now Indian tennis’ in-form singles player. Of course, Prajnesh Gunneswaran is ranked higher but Nagal, in Buenos Aires on Sunday, became the first Indian to win a Challenger title in 2019.
Facing the experienced and former World No 55 Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis on clay may have been a daunting prospect but Nagal used that as a platform to win his second title at this level.
The 80 ranking points he has earned thanks to the win also means he is now World No 135, a career-high for the Jhajjar lad.
The jump in rankings has certainly pleased Zeeshan Ali, India’s Davis Cup coach.
“I think he has started to become more consistent,” he told this daily.
“Like after playing through the qualifiers of the US Open and reaching the main draw, he went and lost in the first round of a Challenger the week after. He has started to address this issue. In fact, he has reached the finals of the last two events he has played in (Srpska Open and Buenos Aires). So if he can continue on this upward curve while developing more consistency into this game, he can certainly eye a top 100 finish to the season.”
The talent has always been there but one thing that has always put a halt to his proceedings was the nagging injuries. How he manages that workload week in, week out will reveal how far he can go in the short term.
“He knows what he is doing with respect to his body. But when you are playing more matches and playing week in, week out, there will be wear and tear. He needs to be careful (about pushing himself).”
Nagal, who came into the limelight after putting up a fighting display against Roger Federer in the US Open, still has one discernible weakness in his game — the serve. But Ali felt he has developed other areas of his game.
“From what I have been seeing this year, it clearly looks like he has developed his backhand a bit better. He does have a big forehand but earlier, he would run around the ball to always play his forehand. These days, it looks like he has added more pace to his backhand game and that’s a good development. The serve remains an issue but he has become a better player this year and the results bear that out.”
After Nagal winds down his season in November, there is still the small matter of a possible Davis Cup meeting against Pakistan in Pakistan. It’s not yet sure if he has made himself available for the tie but Ali was of the opinion that Nagal deserved to be in the side.
“I think he deserves to be in the tie,” Ali said.
All will be known after November 4, the day when the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is set to complete an inspection of the facilities in Islamabad.
