Sumit Nagal set to make his Winston-Salem Open debut
Sumit Nagal, India’s No.1 ranked tennis player at World No. 74, is all set to make his debut at the ATP 250 competition Winston-Salem Open, which starts on August 18 and concludes on August 24. Notably, the player field at Winston-Salem Open includes 25 players within the top 75 ATP rankings, with 15 of them ranked inside the top 50. This will be the 55th edition of the competition.
The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts and is part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the 2024 ATP Tour at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. It is the final men's competition prior to the US Open.
Initially, Nagal was added to the alternatives section of the main draw. However, with a few of the players withdrawing from the competition, Sumit Nagal got a chance to directly compete in the main draw of the tournament. Nagal is all set to replace Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in the main draw.
Sumit Nagal bows out of the Cincinnati Masters qualifying draw
Sumit Nagal, who had a poor outing at the Paris Olympics 2024, suffered a qualifying draw defeat at the Cincinnati Masters on his debut in the competition a few days ago. He competed with USA’s Mackenzie McDonald, the World No. 119, in the first round of the qualifying draw to bow out of the campaign by 6-2, 6-4 in two straight sets.
It’s worth noting that the Cincinnati Masters is played on a hard surface, which posed a significant challenge for Nagal. Having competed on clay at the Paris Olympics 2024, he struggled to adapt quickly to the different conditions.
At the Paris Olympics 2024, Sumit Nagal suffered a loss to Corentin Moutet of France in the first round by 2-6, 6-2, 5-7 to make a tough exit. Prior to the Olympics, Nagal was part of the Australian Open in July. Furthermore, he competed in three different competitions in the same month in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris.
With the Winston-Salem Open set to be played on hard outdoor courts, it would be interesting to watch how Nagal fares in the competition.