"Privilege to play at home" – Sumit Nagal excited to take part in Chennai Open 2024

Sumit Nagal has stated that he is looking forward to taking part in the Chennai Open 2024. The 26-year-old is one of the four Indians in the main draw along with SD Prajwal Dev, Ramkumar Ramanathan, and Mukund Sasikumar.

In fact, in the Round of 32, Nagal will be up against Prajwal Dev, who advanced to the main draw of the Chennai Open after beating Ukraine’s Vadym Ursu 6-3, 6-3 in the final round of the qualifiers.

However, Nagal said that he did not want to drop his guard against his compatriot.

Last time around, Nagal took part in the qualifiers after which he advanced to the semifinals, where he lost in straight sets to Nicolas Moreno de Alboran.

Nagal will be looking to make amends and win the trophy after failing to go all the way last year.

“It’s great to play a Challenger in Chennai. It is a privilege to play at home. I played in qualifying last time here and this time in the main draw. I am looking forward to it,” Nagal was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

“Playing against a qualifier will be tough as they have already had a taste of the conditions,” he added.

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"I am back to routine" – Sumit Nagal

Last month, Nagal took part in the Australian Open 2024 where he defeated No. 31 Alexander Bublik in straight sets in the first round. In the second round, Nagal was set up against China’s Shang Juncheng before losing the match 6-2, 3-6, 5-7, 4-6.

He played three matches in the qualifying rounds before breaking into the main draw of the men’s singles.

“I was at home for a few days, took some days off as my body was tired. Now it is back to the routine. I’ve been practising for the last few days,” Nagal stated.

On the back of his impressive showing at Melbourne Park, Nagal achieved his career-best singles ranking of 121.

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