KOCHI: Sumit Nagal is set to kick-start his Australian Open campaign against World No 73 Ricardas Berankis on Tuesday and former Asian Games doubles medallist Vishnu Vardhan believes that Nagal will make his mark Down Under.Previously, Nagal hasn’t had great outings in Melbourne, having failed to make it past the qualifiers in the 2018 and 2020 and Vishnu suggested that the 23-year-old should play without pressure.
“I think that apart from the French Open, Australian Open would be the next best Grand Slam for Sumit to perform because the courts are a little bouncy and his forehand is going to come a lot into play and that is his strength. And the heat would work in Sumit’s favour. So with these advantages, Sumit should perform really well in Australia but again there’s no pressure and as a true fan and a well wisher, I wish him the best over there,” said Vishnu.
Nagal had got a wildcard entry to the 2021 Australian Open and he is the only Indian to participate in this year’s men’s singles category.The World No 144 will be participating in his third Grand Slam and notably had taken a set against Roger Federer in the 2019 US Open. “I think it (tournament) will be a lot more even between the players because everyone’s coming out and playing after a long time. The playing field would be a lot more level,” added Vishnu.
As for the 33-year-old, the Olympian hasn’t been in action for a year due to the pandemic and he hopes to get back on the court soon. “I don’t know when I’m going to start the international circuit because it’s really hard to create a bio-secure environment for the tournaments that I play. I’m just going to start playing tournaments in India so that I will get some match exposure as I haven’t played a tournament for a year. Every month things are getting better and since the vaccine has come out, hopefully by April-May we can get into the tennis circuit and start having tournaments,” said Vishnu.