I want to see where I stand and do some damage if I can, says Sumit Nagal

Compete, not just appear.

He played in the qualifiers of the 2014 and 2015 Chennai Open back in his junior days when the then 1,674 and 1,567 -ranked teenager participated more for experience than results – on both occasions he lost his opening match 6-2, 6-0.

“I’m not 16-17 like I was back then, so this is the real deal,” Nagal says. “I want to see where I stand, and do some damage if I can.”

It’s been a few years since Nagal entered the draw of India’s only ATP event. He came out of obscurity in 2015, when he won the junior doubles title at Wimbledon, and was touted to be the next big singles player from the country.

At first glance though, for former Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj, Nagal drew comparisons with former singles spearhead Somdev Devvarman. “He had a similar style, good groundstrokes, was quick on his feet, and ran down every ball,” says Amritraj, who first saw Nagal when the youngster joined the team as a reserve player for the second round zonal tie against South Korea in Chandigarh in 2016. “He was a mini-Somdev, but had a bigger forehand and a marginally better serve. And if Somdev could use those skills to break into the top 100, why not Sumit?”

But controversy threatened to derail the fledgling career shortly after the Chandigarh tie. Nagal was accused of indiscipline for allegedly bringing his girlfriend to his hotel room and cleaning up the mini-bar during the World Group Playoff tie against Spain in September 2016.

He would never have enough time to focus on the accusations though, for at the same time, he was facing the possibility of a shoulder surgery for a torn labrum. “It didn’t bother me because I was more worried about my shoulder,” he says. “I didn’t know if I was ever going to play again, so at that time, that was the most important thing.”

He was given two options: a short-term solution through surgery (which had mixed chances of success), or a long rehabilitation process. He opted for the latter. “I was scared because surgery was a risky option, a gamble,” he says. “Lots of players have had to end careers because the operation didn’t work out.”

It took him five months to get back on tour when he returned in April, and even longer to reach a competitive level. In fact, three of his first four tournaments ended in first-round exits.

“I couldn’t go all out because I had a fear that it would get bad again,” he says. “It took me a while to get some wins and start believing in myself again.”

Once he found confidence, Nagal would start clawing back from the 406 rank he had dropped to, and go on to win four Futures events, followed by the $100,000 event in Bengaluru.

The title shot his rank up to a career-best of 223, and he was the no. 3 singles player from India behind Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan.

“He’s become a much more consistent player with his shots,” says Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali. “His game has also matured now, and he doesn’t tend to play rash shots.”

A strong forehand has been the key element in his game, but the youngster has used the off-season to work on developing a few more weapons, fitness being one of them. “I’ve done a lot of work on building my legs. I may not be the tallest player, but I’m definitely faster than most of them,” Nagal adds. “It’s a gradual process, but it makes a difference. Earlier if I had a 65 per cent first serve rate, and I can take that to 70, then that’s big.”

The preparation is for more than just an ATP level tournament. “The goal now is to get into the top 150 and get a shot at the French Open,” Nagal says.

But it all starts for him in Pune, his first ATP event.