Indian Well Masters: Sumit Nagal enters main draw as Rafael Nadal withdraws

Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal made his way to the main draw of the BNP Paribas Indian Wells Masters as Rafael Nadal pulled out of the tournament on Wednesday.

“It is not an easy decision, it's a tough one as a matter of fact, but I can't lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans,” Nadal said in a statement released by the tournament.

This was supposed to be his first official match in two months.

He was scheduled to face 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic in the first round Thursday night — Sumit Nagal, who lost in qualifying, took the empty spot in the bracket — but now the world will wait to find out when it next will get a chance to watch Nadal compete.

Sumit Nagal would enter the main draw as the 'lucky loser' as he lost the final qualifying round against South Korea's Seong-Chan Hong

Nagal lost the 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (4-7) against Hong despite being one set up early in the match.

Earlier, Nagal brushed past the challenge of American wildcard Stefan Dostanic in straight sets in his first outing at the Indian Wells Masters on Monday.