Sumit Nagal set for Wimbledon debut as tennis ace becomes 1st Indian in 5 years to feature in singles main draw

Sumit Nagal is set for his Wimbledon debut as the tennis ace has punched his tickets for the main draw of the Grand Slam event.

Sumit Nagal is set to be featured in the Wimbledon Championship. The Indian tennis star punched his tickets for the main draw of the Grand Slam event. Nagal has become the first Indian in five years to appear in the main draw of the men’s singles event at Wimbledon. Before Nagal qualified for the Grand Slam draw, Prajnesh Gunneswaran remained the last Indian player to secure the special feat in men's tennis.

Sumit Nagal in action during his round of 32 match against Denmark's Holger Rune(REUTERS)

Gunneswaran lost his opening-round clash with Canada’s Milos Raonic (6-7, 4-6, 2-6) at the 2019 Wimbledon Championship. Nagal is warming up for the upcoming edition of the French Open. The 2024 edition of the Rolland-Garros will take place from May 26 to June 9. The top-ranked Indian men’s singles player was recently seen sharing the tennis court with Novak Djokovic. The World No.1 trained with Nagal in the lead-up to the French Open in Paris.

Earlier, Nagal suffered a first-round exit from the Geneva Open. India's top-ranked singles, Nagal, lost to Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the opening round of the Geneva tournament. The World No.94 was defeated 6-7 (7) 3-6 by the Argentine star. Baez, a clay court specialist, wrapped up his match against Nadal in one hour and 52 minutes in Geneva. "Gutted with the loss today. But good preparation ahead of Roland Garros. Paris next," said Nagal, who has qualified for the French Open.

India's No.1 player managed to break into the top 100 in the world earlier this year. In April, Nagal claimed a set off World No.7 Holger Rune before losing his second-round match of the Monte Carlo Masters. Nagal had famously taken a set off from legendary tennis player Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open.