India’s Sumit Nagal during a practice session ahead of their Davis Cup Qualifiers Round 1 tie against the Netherlands at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: There was a sort of flutter when it came to light that India’s top player, Sumit Nagal, is not in the best of shape ahead of an important home Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands. Those concerns were somewhat put to rest when the world No. 281 told the media on Thursday that extensive rehabilitation and structured on-court training sessions have helped him recover faster, ahead of the two-day fixture which kicks-off this weekend at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium.
“I’m feeling good, feeling better day by day,” began Nagal.
“I have been working a lot the last two, three weeks. For me, the camp started right after Bangkok. Obviously, I didn’t feel so good in Bangkok. I flew down the same night, started my rehab and, honestly, I don’t have any complaints. I did whatever I could to get ready for the Davis Cup. I knew it was going to be a very important match. Yeah, pretty happy with how the last three weeks have been,” he offered.
Following an extended pre-season, Nagal started his 2026 calendar at the ATP Challenger in Bengaluru, where he lost in the round of 16, before travelling to the Thailand Challenger. It was here on January 14 that Nagal suffered a hip tear and was forced to retire in the pre-quarterfinal with the score reading 2-2 in the first set against Japan’s Rio Noguchi.
“Obviously, some thoughts of ‘is it going to be okay? Is it not?’ are going to be there. The fear is always there once you come out of an injury, and before playing the first match. You have to accept it for what it is and try to get better week by week and month by month.
“Honestly, it was a very good day for me (on Thursday). Everything felt good, and I’m looking forward to playing for India. I can’t really step on the court and think of giving 80%, 90%... I’m going in as hard as possible.”
The Haryana-born player is one of the most experienced of the lot and is leading India’s campaign at the Davis Cup ties since Rohan Bopanna’s retirement in 2023. He has Yuki Bhambri for company among relatively younger players in the mix whom he cautioned not to take tournaments such as this ‘lightly’.
“I’m trying my best to be a great example. We (Yuki and him) had a good chat with the young ones in Switzerland (when India won) last year. And I think the younger generation now has taken things a little bit easy. I could be wrong. But I’m trying my best to lead. I think Yuki’s probably doing the same thing.”