Young Nagal takes hard route to the top

Sumit Nagal was all of 10 when he left home to embrace full-time tennis. He barely understood what it meant — to be away from the family on a foreign soil. But he loved the sport. In a short time his passion won over the loneliness. Seven years later, during which period he trained in Canada and more recently in Germany, the shift has pulled him out of the obscure, dusty lanes of Nangloi, in New Delhi and taken him to the venerated greens of Wimbledon, where he etched his name in history by winning the boys doubles title.

A well-known name on the circuit now, Nagal marked his return to India with a win at $10,000 ITF tournament in Chennai last week. “The season has been good. I won a Futures tournament at clay in Hyderabad, won Wimbledon doubles and won in Chennai last week,” Nagal told Deccan Herald.

His Whatsapp status flashes his target of reaching in top 300 in February 16, something he hopes to achieve with solid performance in ITF Futures and Challenger tournaments.

“I am happy with the way things are getting now. I am liking it at Schüttler Waske Tennis-University. I needed a change when I came here and things have moved well. My coaches Mariano Delfino and Bastian Suwanprateep travel with me and that helps me a lot. I have a good forehand, so I would like to keep improving on that. Also, I am working with my coaches to turn my serve into a weapon by making it bigger. There will be no more junior slams for me now, I am focussing on senior circuit,” said Nagal who is currently ranked 763.

His Wimbledon feat appears miraculous when one thinks how he had nearly missed his participation, thanks to a delayed visa and later by Air India, which refused to board him as he was under 18 years and insisted on him getting an adult along.

Convincing the authorities turned into an extensive exercise. By that time he had missed his direct flight to Heathrow, where he was to meet his coach Mariano Delfino. He was then forced to travel to Germany, from where he took a train to London. He reached for his singles match just a day before and lost in the first round to Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina.

“It was a mess. I never understood the logic of Air India, I told them I am representing India at Wimbledon. After I lost in the singles first round, I had asked my coach in the dinner, “So what should we do now?” He said we will now focus on the doubles, taking one match at a time,” said Nagal.

Partnering Nam Hoang Ly of Vitenam, Nagal worked his way into the final. Awaiting them in the title clash were the fourth-seeded American-Japanese pair of Reilly Opelka and Akira Santillan. Opelka, who towers at six feet 10 inches, had won the boys singles title and is now seen as the next big thing for US tennis. Santillan, on the other hand, had reached the boys’ singles semifinals at the Australian Open this year. Those facts didn’t matter in the end as the Indo-Vietnamese pair won through to spark celebrations.

“It was really a proud feeling winning the Wimbledon, to be among the few from the country of billion people to have achieved this. It made so many people happy, especially my parents. They have sacrificed a lot for me. I was particularly happy for Ly who became first Vietnamese ever to win such a big title.”

As for Nagal, the title made him only the sixth Indian to win a junior Grand Slam. Yuki Bhambri had won the Australian boys singles title in 2009. Ramanathan Krishnan (Wimbledon, 1954), Ramesh Krishnan (French Open and Wimbledon, 1979) and Leander Paes (Wimbledon 1990, US Open 1991) are the other junior Grand Slam singles champions from India. In fact, Sania Mirza had won the Wimbledon girls doubles title in 2003 with Russian partner Alisa Kleybanova.

Looking back, it appears nothing but a dream for young Nagal who as a regular seven-year old loved playing gully cricket. His father Suresh Nagal, a primary school teacher who retired from the Army a decade ago, however, was wary of him falling in bad company.

“It was my dad who wanted me to pursue individual sport. I had always loved sports and played a lot of cricket with local boys. But I took easily to tennis. Maybe because I love competing and running. I was put to a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) sports complex at Paschim Vihar,” recalled Nagal whose elder sister, Sakshi, is a teacher and mother Krishna is a housewife.

The decision was to change his life forever. The Jhajjar-born boy was spotted by multiple Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi during a talent hunt programme by Apollo Tyres at Delhi Lawn Tennis Association in 2007. From there he went to Bangalore to train for two years. The programme got shut down but Bhupathi continued to support Nagal. He went to Canada to train under Bobby Mahal before shifting base to Schüttler Waske Tennis-University in Offenbach, Germany last year.

“Initially, it was a little tough to be away from the family, to be in a new culture but then I got used to it. I made friends and now I am fine. Some people say I am lucky or things worked out so nicely for me. But I believe opportunities come rarely and we have to make the most of them.

“I have a great respect for Mahesh. He is a hard guy, he doesn’t show his emotions. He would do straight talk and that is something I really like about him. He is still managing me and has a huge role to play in my career,” said Nagal, who was thrilled sharing the frame with World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams at the Champions’ Ball. He, however, idolises Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Away from tennis Nagal, who turned 18 last month, is a regular teenager who loves video games and watching movies. He is still coming to terms with his personality, still figuring his way out. “Things have changed since I won Wimbledon. Everyone wants to talk to me, hit with me, and hang out with me. It is fun.

“I have beaten players in top 200 this year. The feeling of winning is unbeatable but it sucks to lose the matches you could have won. But you know, I am still learning,” he smiled.