CHENNAI: After Sumit Nagal's semifinal loss at the ongoing Chennai Open on Saturday, Somdev Devvarman and he went for a small walk around the SDAT tennis courts. In earlier rounds, the conversation during these walks was a two-way street. Not after Nagal's loss to the American Nicolas Moreno de Alboran.
Devvarman, who is coaching the Indian, made most of the talking. And Nagal seemed to absorb everything like a sponge. It revolved around Devvarman asking Nagal to stay focused on the kind of identity he wants to show on the court. "It never really comes down to one thing," the former World No. 62 told mediapersons after the match. "Could we have done better in the breakpoint on the opening game? Have to stay focused on his identity, how he wants to be on the court and to figure out what his limits are." These are the kind of conversations the 38-year-old had.
While Devvarman termed the week 'very positive' for Nagal — who began the week outside the top 500 before finishing it just outside the top 400 — he called it a 'work in progress'. "This has been a very positive week for him but there's still lots of scope for improvement."
He also said Nagal had chances to win the semifinal. "Of course, he had a chance today," he said. "When you play a high-quality match and lose serve three times in one set, it's not good enough but he did break serve twice and usually breaking serve twice is good enough to win a set. You can analyse a match in many different ways. Did he have a chance? Yes."
He did have a few moments in both sets but the Indian ultimately failed to win many of the crucial points. The end result was a 4-6, 2-6 loss.
The 25-year-old who last reached a semifinal at this level in September 2021 (Sibui, Romania) will be the first to agree with that assessment. For starters, he believes his potential is that of a top 60 player. In 2019, Nagal started wearing a chain which had 'Project 61' inscribed on it. It had to do with a simple fact: no Indian men's singles player has been ranked as high as that this side of 2000.
Nagal still has it. For what it's worth, Devvarman believes he can do it. "He still has that... believe he has the potential to," he said. "Potential is one thing, reaching it is another. But he still has a long way to go. Can he do it? Sure. Hope he does because it's a pretty shitty record also, to be honest. High time somebody breaks it," he smiled.
Results (semifinals):
Max Purcell bt Dane Sweeny 6-4, 7-6 (3), De Alboran bt Nagal 6-4, 6-2.
Doubles final:
Jay Clarke/ Arjun Kadhe bt Sebastian Ofner/ Nino Serdarusic 6-0, 6-4.
Sunday's singles final:
Purcell vs De Alboran