Sumit Nagal back on Arthur Ashe, this time he faces Dominic Thiem

Sumit Nagal was clear about why he wished to stay in Germany and not fly back home to India when the Covid-19 pandemic began to grip the world in March: Not only did he feel safer in the European country, he also predicted that he would be able to return to playing tennis much sooner if he stayed put. He was right, and the decision was a key factor in the 23-year-old Indian winning his maiden Grand Slam match at the US Open in New York on Tuesday, the first time in seven years that an Indian singles player has crossed the first round at a Slam. In the second round, Nagal will face World No 3 and second seeded Dominic Thiem.

Nagal went back to the Nensel Tennis Academy in Peine, which he has made his training base, after India’s Davis Cup tie in Croatia ended in early March. It ensured that the Indian not only returned to his physical and tennis training as soon as lockdown restrictions began to ease in Germany in May, but also gave him an opportunity to get back to playing competitive matches across Europe even while the professional tour remained at a halt.

India’s highest-ranked singles player took part in an international tournament as early as June, going on to win the PSD Bank Nord Open, a local German exhibition event organised. He then travelled to Basel in July to get some more match practice under his belt at the International Crossklinik Tennis Open before returning to the tour last month at the ATP Prague Open, where he lost to three-time Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.

Thus, even as his compatriots in India—and indeed many players around the world—were forced to bide their time just to get back on court (most Indian players started training only from last month), Nagal was up and running and match ready since June. It showed in the way he played in his first-round clash at Flushing Meadows. Nagal was switched on from the get-go, dishing out a sharp game with little signs of rust.

“For sure, that was the whole plan behind it,” Nagal said when asked if playing competitive matches in the lead up to the US Open played a role in his win. “The idea was to be ready for the big stage. Training and playing some exhibition matches as well as a Challenger (in Prague) before the US Open was the right choice.

“Especially the first two sets were solid. I came out playing good with a very high serve percentage. I stuck to my plan and did what I was told and kept doing the same things over and over,” Nagal said of his 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory against American Bradley Klahn.

The last time an Indian singles player made it to the second round at a Slam was also at the US Open, when Somdev Devvarman won his first round fixture in 2013.

“It’s been long,” Nagal said. “To be honest, I did not know that it has been seven years since we won a match here. We need to do better, really. We need to be winning more of these matches and have more players playing in the main draw of Grand Slams in the future.”

Someone who has done that over the last many years in doubles is Rohan Bopanna. And the 2017 French Open mixed doubles champion was present in Nagal’s corner, egging him on when his junior compatriot walked towards the side of the court to get his towels. With no crowd to help get the juices flowing, Bopanna played that underrated role.

“I just needed that extra energy and it definitely helped me,” Nagal said. “It felt good having him (Bopanna), Milos (Galecic, fitness trainer) and Gaurang Shukla (physio) at my corner. They were there last year as well against Federer.”

Nagal will need all of them—and perhaps something more—driving him again on Thursday, for his second-round match against Thiem. Nagal played on one of the many outer courts on Tuesday, and is likely to be bumped up to either of the two main courts for his encounter against the Austrian. But he is used to that, having got the taste of playing against Roger Federer at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2019 US Open. The Indian took a set off the Swiss then and did the same against Wawrinka in Prague last month. He is hoping to put on a show once again against another big fish.

“I am ready and excited to play him (Thiem),” Nagal said. “It’s going to be fun and the match will give me a chance to see where I stand in terms of my tennis level.”