Sumit Nagal enters Australian Open singles main draw

MELBOURNE: Sumit Nagal is a character tennis is richer with.
He’s 5 ft 10, flaunts a hairdo that’s gelled with attitude, and his grunt uncoils into a growl each time he swivels to play his shot. Aaarrrrgggghhhh. He's tattooed and always in a conversation -- with himself, with his box, even with the chair umpire. Out. By how much?
The India No.1, ranked 139 in the world, is a grinder, he’ll tell you.And at Melbourne Park’s Court No.3, backed by a voluble courtside crowd, he put on a 2-hour 3-minute demonstration of his volition. Bollywood without the song and dance.
The left-handed Alex Molcan, the world No 118, bowed with a double-fault on the Indian’s fifth match-point in a clash played under blazing skies, where both players were running on empty for the second hour of the match.
Nagal, who had taken a medical time out after breaking his opponent in the eighth game of the second set, to get attention for his soleus and left hip flexor, came away with a 6-4, 6-4 win to make the Australian Open men’s singles main draw.
The Indian who was ahead 3-0 after 26 minutes of play was struggling physically from the word go. He was almost dragging himself around the court between points.
“The conditions were tough for both of us. Even though it was 34 degrees, the on court temperature was pushing 40. It was very, very hot,” Nagal said. “I have been working on my soleus and hip flexor for the last couple of days. It has been a while since I have played three matches in a Grand Slam. The energy at a Slam is different. Everyone is playing well, everyone wants to perform. I am glad I put this one away.”
“This is the first time I didn’t lose a set (in the qualies of a Slam), it shows I am playing well. It gives me a lot of confidence going into the main draw. Last year I wasn’t getting into a Challenger even,” said Nagal, who will play the 31st seed Alexander Bublik in the first round, most likely on Monday.
For Nagal, who has made steady progress from hip surgery in 2021, this is his fourth Grand Slam main draw and second at the Australian Open. The 26-year-old, who made the main draw of the US Open in 2019 and 2020, bagged a wildcard into the Australian Open in 2021.