Top-100 Dream Realised, Sumit Nagal Eyes Olympic Glory Next

His dream of being inside the global top-100 has been realised but Sumit Nagal is nowhere close to being a content man as the Indian tennis ace says he now faces the challenge of improving or holding on to his standing for direct entry into Grand Slams and the Paris Olympics. Nagal's victory in the recent Chennai Open propelled him to a career-high world No. 98, and he is the first Indian to achieve the feat since Prajnesh Gunneswaran did that in 2019.

"Every tennis player dreams about being in the top 100. I have dreamt about being in the top 100 from a very young age and it felt very good when it happened. It was certainly an emotional day after working for years," Nagal told PTI in an interview after his first-round win in the Bengaluru Open on Tuesday night.

The 26-year-old, who is seeded second here, entered the second round of the tournament with a breezy 6-2, 6-2 win over Frenchman Geff Blancaneaux.

But he is not ready to rest on his laurels and has set his eyes on bigger achievements.

"Yes, it was a big moment (entering top 100). But now I am in a new tournament, you know, tennis, you need to take it week by week. So, emotions have come down now. While in Bangalore I am focusing on this tournament.

"But the real goal is to go and represent my country in the Olympics. It's one of my goals, and it really motivates me and I really want to play the Olympics, and take a medal back for the country," he said.

Top 56 players in the ATP (men) and WTA (women) rankings, as on June 10 this year, will get direct qualification for the July-August Paris Games provided the number per country does not exceed four.

Entries would be permitted from outside the top-56 for countries who have less than four automatic qualifiers.

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