Sumit Nagal created history by becoming the first Indian ever to win an ATP Challenger on European clay after winning the title in Rome yesterday. What made the achievement all the more impressive was that he had to qualify into the main draw.
Nagal shares his thoughts with us after the match –
Q) Your thoughts on the week
SN – I would like to first congratulate Jesper (de Jong) for the finals, sorry it didn’t go your way. It’s been a tough last 3-4 years for me – had a surgery, multiple injuries. Last time I played a final was in 2019. Playing the final here was already a big step for me. Playing 7-8 matches in 8 days without getting injured (laughs).
Q) Where do you go from here?
SN – Winning this tournament means a lot, but unfortunately didn’t make the French Open cutoff. It will go towards the next (Grand) Slam. About this particular tournament, I’ve been saying from the first day, lot of people come and watch. It’s amazing because you don’t get to see that in Challengers. It’s always a nice thing. Very well organized tournament, amazing food, amazing people, amazingly good job done by the referees, umpires, supervisors, and the tournament director. Thanks everyone for coming out and watching.
