Birthday boy Nagal gets first round bye on Challenger Tour return in Prague
By Saurabh Singh
Today is Sumit Nagal’s 23rd birthday and his world ranking of 127 has fetched the Indian seed no 6 at the ATP Challenger Tour’s Prague Open 2020, as Men’s professional tennis returns to action after five-month hiatus due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.
Nagal, seeded sixth in the tournament, gets a first-round bye and will be up against Britain's Jay Clarke, who beat Dmitry Popko 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in round one, on Monday.
Jhajjar-born Nagal is eager to get back to competing after the unprecedented break halted all major professional sports across the world.
#India number one @nagalsumit (World rank 127) excited to play #PragueOpen as @ATPChallenger resumes in two weeks.
https://t.co/GYsQOGuLNd#AITATennispic.twitter.com/e0lCn40ySt— All India Tennis Association (@AITA__Tennis) August 4, 2020
During the quarantine, Nagal stayed back in Europe and made a base in Germany at the Nensel Tennis Academy. Nagal worked on his game and fitness, while also travelling to different cities in Europe.
Weather tried stopping me from being a tourist in St Maxim but ... pic.twitter.com/15btDYgabt
— Sumit Nagal (@nagalsumit) July 23, 2020
Nagal became the first Indian tennis player who returned to play competitive tennis on court and won the PSD Bank Nord Open in Germany in June.
Good weekend here in Pinneburg, winning at the PSD Bank Nord Open. Felt good to be competing again after so long pic.twitter.com/63EQ1w6BlY
— Sumit Nagal (@nagalsumit) June 29, 2020
The two-time winner on the Challenger Tour, Nagal is up against a strong field at Prague which is headlined by top seed Stan Wawrinka and features five players from Top 125 in the world. However, with a couple of wins, the Indian could set up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against Swiss star Wawrinka.
Photo Credit: Sumit Nagal/Twitter.
