Indian Tennis: Sumit Nagal gets wild card entry for 2021 Australian Open

India's second best singles player Sumit Nagal received a singles main draw wild card for the 2021 Australian Open.

The tournament, which is scheduled to begin on February 8, gave out wild card entries to two players from the Asia-Pacific region — one to Nagal, the men's world No.136, and the other to China's Wang Xiyu, a teenager ranked at 123.

After receiving the wild card, Nagal posted on Twitter, "I am very thankful to all the people who put effort in helping me get a wild card for the 2021 Australian Open.

"Thanks to Tennis Australia for all their effort to make this slam possible in this circumstances."

https://twitter.com/nagalsumit/status/1343225579147935745

Nagal hogged the limelight for the first time with his Grand Slam debut as a qualifier against Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open. Then, this year, he became the first Indian in seven years, since Somdev Devvarman at the US Open in 2013, to win a singles match at a Grand Slam when he defeated American Bradley Klahn in the first round of the 2020 US Open.

However, he went down in the second round to eventual champion Dominic Thiem. In Melbourne, he will be looking to step up his game and go further into the tournament.