It is a dream for most players to play against tennis legend Roger Federer. India’s 22-year-old Sumit Nagal will be doing exactly that at the United States Open Tennis Championships or the US Open in the opening match on Tuesday.
He will be playing against the Swiss legend Roger Federer on Tuesday in the opening round of the tournament at Ashe Stadium, US Open’s centre court. Sumit Nagal qualified for the US Open beating Brazil’s Joao Menezes on Friday night in New York. The Haryana native is ranked number 190 in the world.
Sumit also is the fifth Indian player to feature in Grand Slam singles championship in this decade, after Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni and Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
In addition to him, Chennai-born Prajnesh Gunneswaran will also be representing India at the US Open this year. Prajnesh, who made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open earlier this year, will be playing against 5th seed and Cincinnati Masters champion Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the tournament.
Image courtesy: Facebook/PrajneshGunneswaran
"It means a lot. Everyone dreams about this. I played well in qualifiers. Every match meant something, I had some history with all of them. It was a roller-coaster. Of course, I am super happy. I don't even know what to say," Sumit Nagal told PTI.
This is the first time that India will be represented by two players in the Grand Slam since 1998 when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took part at Wimbledon.
Some of the players took to Twitter to congratulate Sumit on being qualified for the US Open and to wish him luck.
Pretty cool that after qualifying into the us open, @nagalsumit now plays Federer first round on Arthur Ashe !
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) August 24, 2019
Considering where he started the year, Coming back from injury , all the other crap , phenomenal work since then !
Well done coaches #milosgalecic #sashanensel
You the mannnnnn @nagalsumit
— Rohan Bopanna (@rohanbopanna) August 23, 2019
Qualifying into the main draw of the @usopen @kirrenrijju @IndianOilcl @IndianOil_Delhi pic.twitter.com/Bnrhg2TQUk
With that, @nagalsumit qualifies for his first @usopen !! . He plays Federer on Monday nite for his first round at #FlushingMeadows . Everyone in NYC and NJ please go support & cheer for this amazing young player! !!! pic.twitter.com/wjxcyYsG32
— Lara Dutta Bhupathi (@LaraDutta) August 24, 2019
The United States Open Tennis Championships is a hard-court tennis tournament, which is a modern version of the US National Championship. It is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of every year following the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon.