India No.1 Sumit Nagal shares his thoughts on making the final in what a lot of people on are terming as a very ‘surprising’ week, as Nagal is not known to be good on indoor hard courts. But Nagal is proving everyone wrong, beating several top players along the way to the final. He shares his thoughts after the semi-final win over former top 100 Stefano Travaglia.
Q) How are you feeling after making the final?
SN – Excited. It’s my first final of my career on indoor courts. I don’t think I can ask for anything more. I’m feeling good, feeling fit. Game feels good. Nothing to complain about.
Q) You are playing against Moutet in the final. Any thoughts on that?
SN – He’s a very good player. Very tricky, very smart. I’ve played against him a couple of times. He was always gives a good fight. So it’s going to be a great match. Looking forward to it and I hope we can fill the stadium.
Q) Your thoughts about the win against Emil Ruusuvuori in the QF? Not the ideal way to end, since he retired after 1.5 sets
SN – Ya it’s unfortunate that he had to retire. I wish him the best and he recovers well. But I was very happy with my level. I don’t want to sound rude, but I think I played very high level tennis and was the better player for 1.5 sets. I know he was struggling with shoulder issues, we’ve all been there. I hope he recovers fast, and I congratulate him for another Top 100 year.
Q) Match against Stefano Travaglia in the semis?
SN – Everyone knows he’s a really solid player. He’s been Top 100 for many years, so he can obviously play at a very high level. I knew he was leading the head to head by quite a bit. But I was really really forward to the match. Happy to have won it.
Q) Finland seems to be a lucky place for you. You also won the ATP Tampere Challenger on clay here earlier in 2023
SN – Ya Finland’s been great for me (laughs). I don’t know, maybe it’s the luck. Somehow I play my best tennis here. No complaints (laughs).
