India's Sumit Nagal gets direct entry to US Open 2020 as several top players pull out
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Rising Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has been handed a direct entry into the US Open singles main draw after several top stars pulled out of the Grand Slam, scheduled to take place in the Flushing Meadows, from August 31.
Rising Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has been handed a direct entry into the US Open singles main draw after several top stars pulled out of the Grand Slam, scheduled to take place in the Flushing Meadows, from August 31.
Nagal, ranked 127, was the last player to receive direct entry into the field of 128, which was locked into using the latest ATP rankings, as per the tournament website. Hence, Nagal will be the only Indian in the men’s event with Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who is ranked 132, missing out narrowly.
In 2019, Nagal reachedh is maiden Grand Slam, after winning all the qualifying round matches. He went onto face the legendary Swiss megastar Roger Federer in what was a dream encounter for the youngster.
In the much-talked-about encounter, the 22-year-old bagged a set off Federer before the Swiss maestro got into the groove to win the match 6-4, 1-6, 2-6, 4-6.
Three-time US Open champions and current world number one Novak Djokovic headlines the US Open 2020 with the likes of Federer and Rafael Nadal giving the event a miss. While Federer is still recovering from a knee surgery, Nadal cited health concerns surrounding COVID-19.
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Former champion Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini and Gael Monfils are other top tennis star missing from the men’s event.
Professional tennis tours have been on a hiatus since March because of the coronavirus outbreak, with play resuming for women at Palermo Ladies Open this week in Italy.