Tennis
Sumit Nagal rises 23 places to be ranked 98th in ATP men's singles rankings
Nagal is the first Indian to break into the ATP men's singles top 100 since Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who made the cut in 2019.
FILE PHOTO: Sumit Nagal became the first Indian player to win in the first round of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open since 1989.
Sumit Nagal, who won the Chennai Open ATP Challenger title on Sunday, jumped 23 places to break into the top 100 of the ATP men's singles rankings for the first time in his career.
Nagal will now be ranked 98th in the latest ATP rankings led by Serbian great Novak Djokovic.
Haryana's Nagal has been in great form. Last month, he beat Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in the opening round of the Australian Open and became the first Indian since 1989 to defeat a seeded player at a Grand Slam, following Ramesh Krishnan's victory over Mats Wilander at the Australian Open.
Nagal's Australian Open campaign eventually ended in the second round when he lost to China's Juncheng Shang.
Nagal is also the first Indian to break into the top 100 since Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who made the cut in 2019.
"I'm very emotional. You know, every tennis player's dream is to be top 100 at least. And like I said earlier, to win this match in front of the home crowd in your own country, I don't think I could have asked for a better place," Nagal said after his victory in Chennai on Sunday.
"I don't think there were words, everyone was crying. Less words, more tears. I'm still very emotional. It's been very tough last year with being ranked 500, getting surgery done, and not having financial support.
"A lot of ups and downs, you know. And I'm very happy that I found a way to push every single day and give myself a chance to be here" he added.
