File image of Sumit Nagal© AFP
Olympic-bound Sumit Nagal continued his ascent in the ATP singles chart, climbing to a career-high ranking of 68. The 26-year-old rose five spots in the latest ATP ranking list released on Monday. His previous best was 71. Nagal thus moves past former world No. 71 Sashi Menon to become the fourth highest-ranked Indian man since 1973. Vijay Amritraj (ranked 18th in 1980), Ramesh Krishnan (ranked 23rd in 1985) and Somdev Devvarman (ranked 62nd in 2011) are the only other Indian players who have held a higher rank than Nagal.
A string of impressive results in recent times has not only helped Nagal improve his ranking but also make the cut for singles event at the Paris Games.
Nagal, who will be the sole Indian in the men’s singles event at the Paris Olympics, has so far logged 779 ATP points.
The year began with a win against Alexander Bublik, the 31st seed from Kazkakhstan at the Australian Open. He also competed at the French Open and Wimbledon.
He had won the men’s singles crown at the Heilbronn Neckarcup 2024 Challenger event in Germany earlier this month and the Chennai Open in February.
Nagal, who is currently the best-ranked Indian singles player, has won four ATP Challenger titles since 2023 and Heilbronn was his fourth title on clay.
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