India number one Sumit Nagal excited to play Prague Open as ATP Challenger Tour resumes in two weeks
India's top-ranked player and World No. 127 Sumit Nagal is keen to get back to court and compete at the upcoming Prague Open starting 17th August on the ATP Challenger Tour. Nagal knows it won't be easy, with the field featuring six players from Top 100 of ATP Rankings.
"I'm really excited to play matches again and get in that competitive mode," Nagal told ATPTour.com. "It's what we train for. Everyone is feeling the same way. No one wants to be home anymore after all these months. All the players are going to try to play as much as they can. I cannot wait to get on the court and hit the ball again. I'm just really excited."
There will be no shortage of star power when the ATP Challenger Tour resumes play in two weeks. After being sidelined since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, players competing on the Challenger circuit will return to action at clay-court events in Prague, Czech Republic, and Todi, Italy.
Top Czech and World No. 65 Jiri Vesely is the highest-ranked player on the entry list and will be joined by Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber and Dominik Koepfer, as well as Hungary's Attila Balazs and Marton Fucsovics.
World No. 71 Pierre-Hugues Herbert is also on the Prague entry list, as well as Finnish No. 1 Emil Ruusuvuori. Sitting one spot off a Top 100 breakthrough, the #NextGenATP star is hoping to join the club immediately. Arthur Rinderknech, the 2020 wins leader on the ATP Challenger Tour, will be in Prague as well. The former Texas A&M University standout won 16 of 20 matches in January and February before the tour was suspended.
Prague kicks off a four-week swing in the Czech Republic, which opens with a two-week stop in the capital city and weaves to historic events in Ostrava and Prostejov. With the goal of minimizing travel amid the pandemic, it is an important cluster of events planned for the ATP Challenger Tour restart in August.
Another four-week swing will be simultaneously held in Italy, which opens with a Challenger 100 event in Todi.
Source: ATP Tour
