New Delhi: Indian youngster Sumit Nagal, ranked No. 127 in the world, received a direct entry into the US Open which will be held in New York from August 31.
It will be the 22-year-old Nagal’s second appearance at the US Open, where he will be the only India
n in men’s singles draw as Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked 132, missed out.
Last year, Nagal qualified for his maiden Grand Slam to set up a dream encounter with the legendary Roger Federer. The 22-year-old Haryana boy won the opening set before going down 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6.
“It feels good to make a main draw of a Slam again since I have made only one main draw before. I understand the situation is not the same this year. I am looking to fly to USA after my Challengers in Czech Republic,” PTI quoted Nagal as saying.
Nagal said he won’t have to serve a quarantine period for COVID-19 on reaching New York. “We are supposed to stay in a bubble area and can only go to the hotel and back to the courts. We will have COVID-19 tests every second day.”
A number of top players, including Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka, have pulled out of this year’s US Open due to the pandemic situation.