Nagal, Bopanna and Sharan representing India at the US Open 2020

By Saurabh Singh | AITA

US Open 2020 – the first Grand Slam, after the COVID-19 pandemic had emerged worldwide early this year, begins today in New York, United States with three Indians – India’s top ranked player Sumit Nagal, 2020 Arjuna Awardee Divij Sharan and 2017 French Open Mixed Doubles champion Rohan Bopanna making it to the main draw of the competition.

23-year-old Nagal is slated to face six foot-tall Los Angeles resident Bradley Klahn tomorrow on 1^st September.

Meanwhile, in the Men’s doubles competition, Bengaluru’s Bopanna and his Canadian partner Denis Shapovalov will play the American duo of Noah Rubin and Ernesto Escobedo in their opening round whilst Divij Sharan and her Serbian partner Nikola Cacic are up against eighth seeds Wesley Koolhof of Netherlands and Croatian Nikola Mektic.

Earlier this month, Sumit Nagal entered the US Open Men’s singles Main Draw directly by the help of his world ranking.

Interestingly, Nagal had made his Grand Slam debut at the US Open last year and famously took a set off tennis legend Roger Federer.

In his yet another big-match line-up, Nagal went down to Stan Wawrinka after taking the opening set at the recently concluded Prague Challenger. Wawrinka, eventually, went on to win the title in the Czech capital.

The trend of competing some of the world’s top ranked players may continue at this year’s US Open as well if Nagal beats Klahn in his first round.

Dominic Thiem, world no 3, could be his opponent in the second round, as the Austrian is expected to surpass the opening hurdle against Spaniard Jaume Munar.

Where to watch US Open Live in India

The US Open 2020 live coverage begins from 8:30 pm IST on 31 August on the following TV channels and OTT Streaming platform:

• Star Sports Select 1
• Star Sports Select 2
• Star Sports Select 1 HD
• Star Sports Select 2 HD
• Disney+ Hotstar

Schedule of Indian Players (to be updated as and when available)

Men’s singles round one:

Sumit Nagal (World rank 124) vs Bradley Klahn (World rank 129) – Time: 8:30 pm IST, Date: 1 Sep 2020 (Tuesday)