US Open: Sumit Nagal to face Tallon Griekspoor in first round

The draw for the US Open is out on Thursday. Sumit Nagal, who secured his spot in the US Open main draw in July, has been placed in the Novak Djokovic's quarter at the Grand Slam tournament.

Nagal, the World No. 72, got a favourable draw in the first round as he is set to face Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Griekspoor is ranked 40th in the world.

Though Griekspoor is ranked higher than Nagal, the Indian can still pull off a positive result due to his recent remarkable performances on the ATP tour.

In June this year, Nagal won his career's sixth ATP Challenger title at the Heilbronn Neckarcup. It was Nagal's second title of the year after he won the Chennai Open crown at home.

Earlier this year, Nagal defeated the 31st-seeded player and World No. 27 Alexander 'Sasha' Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets at the Australian Open. By winning the match at Melbourne Park, he became the only male Indian tennis player after Ramesh Krishnan beat a seeded player at Grand Slam in 35 years.

A win against Griekspoor could land Nagal against Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the second round followed by a possible clash against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

Though both Baez and Dimitrov are formidable opponents, Nagal would look to showcase his prowess.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, the Paris Olympics men's singles gold, will begin his campaign against a qualifier.

Djokovic will look to defend his title. He won four US Open titles so far.