Sumit Nagal clinches Heilbronner Neckarcup Challenger, eyes Olympic Qualification
Indian Tennis player Sumit Nagal won the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger event on Sunday. He beat Switzerland's Alexander Ritschard 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the final in Heilbronn, Germany.
With this triumph, Sumit also bagged his second ATP challenger title this season. The top-ranked Indian singles player also took an impressive stride, jumping from 95 to a career-best World No. 77, gaining 100 ranking points with this victory.
Sumit has earlier broken into the ATP top 100 as well, courtesy of his Chennai Challenger win in February. His graph has only gone higher, as the past fortnight saw him debut at the French Open main draw.
Making the trip to Heilbronn to participate in the Challenger, Sumit got off to a bright start, beating Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili. He defeated the former World No.16, 6-2,1-6, 6-3.
The 26-year-old then registered a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Spain's Javier Barranco Cosano in the Round of 16 and then got past Russia's Ivan Gakhov 6-1, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinal.
Facing fifth seed Luca Van Assche in the semi-final, Sumit impressed once again, handing the Frenchman a 6-2, 7-6(5) defeat to set up his second Challenger final this season.
Beating Alexander Ritschard in the final, Nagal clinched his sixth Challenger title, and a fourth on clay. The win, however, did not come easy, as Ritschard put up a tough fight in the second and third sets.
Sumit acknowledged his win and thanked his coaches and supporters. On his X (formerly Twitter) handle, he wrote,
"Elated to win the title in Heilbronn this week. It was an important week for me, and I’m proud to have produced my best tennis when it mattered the most. A big thanks to my coaches, sponsors, and supporters around the world."
Sumit Nagal eligible to qualify for Paris Olympics with Heilbronner Neckarcup Challenger triumph
With his triumph at the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger event, Sumit broke into the top 80 of the ATP rankings. As a result, this makes him eligible to qualify for the Paris Olympics, set to begin next month.
Reaching a career-best ranking of World No. 77, the 26-year-old, hailing from Jhajjar in Haryana, is most likely to make the cut for the men’s singles draw at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Third seed Nagal faced stiff competition from Nikoloz Basilashvili, Javier Barranco Cosano, Ivan Gakhov, and Luca Van Assche before making the final.
He was also in the limelight in January this year, when he made it to the main draw of the Australian Open. However, he crashed out in the second round. Further, he also entered the main draw of the Indian Wells Masters and Monte-Carlo Masters.