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My belief and hunger are higher than ever before: Sumit Nagal
2023 saw him climb to 138 in the ATP rankings and he wants to carry that momentum into the next year
Ranked outside 500 in the world, Sumit Nagal began the year needing the generosity of a wildcard to enter even the qualifying rounds of a low-key Challenger event Nonthaburi, Thailand. Currently at 138 in the ATP charts, Nagal signed off 2023 rubbing shoulders with the creme de la creme ofsu professional tennis at the World Tennis League (WTL) in Abu Dhabi.
Drafted as an alternate, the India No. 1 in singles was among the 16 players in the pre-season exhibition team event last week featuring Daniil Medvedev (ATP world No. 3), Andrey Rublev (No. 5), Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 6), Hubert Hurkacz (No. 9), Taylor Fritz (No. 10), Iga Swiatek (WTA world No. 1), Aryna Sabalenka (No 2), Elena Rybakina (No. 4), among others.
Part of the Falcons team with Fritz, Wimbledon champion Rybakina and Sorana Cirstea, Nagal played doubles with Fritz and against the likes of the Russian combo of Medvedev-Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov and Lloyd Harris.
Doubles in tennis is a lot different to singles yet by playing against and with some of the world’s top pros, simply watching them go about their training or having a hit with them, Nagal understood facets of his own game that needs stepping up to match them competitively and consistently on court.
“It was nice to see them practice and play and learn from them," Nagal said from Australia, where he will kick off his 2024 season. “You've got to give it to them on how consistent they are with their game and how well they serve. That’s a big aspect of my game that needs to be improved.
“These players are just very consistent; they will hardly miss any balls during rallies. They know exactly what they want to do and how they want to go about their planning and will stick to that plan.”
India's most recent face in the main draw of Grand Slams and the 2015 Wimbledon boys' doubles champion, Nagal knows a few of these men from the junior days but the experience of being around the finest male and female pros at present felt different.
“They are all such great players, humble people and very positive," he said. “The level that they play at is just a different level. I hope I can bring that level soon too, because I believe I am capable of doing it.”
This season has been about raising that level for Nagal, and it reflects in his ranking surge. Struggling for rhythm for most of last year coming back from a hip surgery in late 2021, Nagal found his feet on the Challenger tour this year and grew in belief. The first big step came in the home Challenger in February in Chennai, where he reached the semi-finals and jumped almost 100 places in the rankings. Bigger things would be in store as he lifted the ATP Roma Garden Open in April as a qualifier to end a four-year Challenger title drought. It took him just three more months for another title, winning the Tampere Challenger in July.
He had two more runner-up finishes to show in a solid run on the Challenger circuit that he craved with his tennis and his body. His biggest takeaway came from both those aspects as well as the mind.
“I have become more mature as a player," Nagal said. “I’ve learnt more about my game, what I can do and what I can’t. I was able to play most of the season, which kept me in the rhythm. I think that was the huge part.”
A fit Nagal does belong here, as he showed in his pre-surgery days by reaching a career-high ranking of 122 in August 2020 and becoming the first Indian male in seven years to enter the singles second round of a Grand Slam at the 2020 US Open. The 26-year-old believes he is a more refined and hungrier version of that player.
“I am a better player now than I was in 2019 and the mindset is very different. My belief and hunger are higher than ever before. Me and my team will push for more now," he said.
Nagal had pushed to break into the top 100 in 2020 and 2021 before his body broke down. He will have a go at it again in 2024, with the Paris Olympics and playing the Slam main draws the other big goals.
“My goals are very simple for this season: do everything to stay fit, break into the top 100 in the first quarter and look to play for India in the Olympics.”
