Sumit Nagal capitalises on clay and consistency to be on Olympic cusp, but needs to step up to get to next level

After two remarkable weeks on the clay courts of Germany and Italy, Nagal is not too far away from that feat.

On Monday, the 27-year-old jumped six spots in the ATP world rankings to reach a career-high No. 71, making him the joint fourth-highest-ranked Indian man since rankings were introduced in 1973. He overtook Leander Paes and Anand Amritraj, and is tied with Sashi Menon’s career-high achieved in 1975. Devvarman’s career-high of 62 is well within reach even if that of Ramesh Krishnan (23) and Vijay Amritraj (18) is not.

Nagal, an accomplished clay-courter, hit the reset button after a first- round defeat at the French Open to stitch together a run at the Challenger level. He won the 100-point event in Heilbronn, Germany, and made it to the final of the 125 Challenger in Perugia, Italy, where he ran out of steam in the summit clash.

The timing of his run could not have been better with regard to Olympic qualification. Nagal’s win in Heilbronn took him to World No. 77 just in time for the cutoff for the Paris Games – where the tennis competition will be played on his favourite surface at Roland Garros. While his spot is not confirmed yet, the chances of him making it are good. The top 56 ranked players get into the main draw in Paris, but only a maximum of four from each country are allowed. There are likely to be a few withdrawals given that the Olympics will take place shortly after Wimbledon, meaning Olympics-bound players will have to switch from clay to grass and back to clay over a short duration.

Best we’ve got

While a cursory glance at Nagal’s achievements make them seem modest by global standards, it is his consistency in getting positive results that augurds well as he continues to wage a lonely battle for Indian tennis (the next highest-ranked Indian is Ankita Raina, World No. 269 on the women’s tour).

Nagal spoke of financial strife only last year, and was ranked outside the top 500 less than two years ago. But staying fit and capitalising on momentum has seen him go from strength to strength this year, winning two Challenger titles, in addition to a final and semi-final appearance.

For Nagal to take the next step in his career, however, he will have to produce a run at a higher level, meaning getting results against players ranked significantly higher than him.

He beat World No. 17 Alexander Bublik at the Australian Open to become the first Indian to beat a seeded player at a Slam in 34 years, and came within touching distance of beating World No. 15 Holger Rune at Monte Carlo in a match impacted by rain and played over two days. But such results have been few and far between.

His win-loss record above Challenger level has been 3-7 this year. During his nine-match winning streak at the recent clay Challengers, Nagal did not beat any player ranked higher, and lost to the first one he faced, Luciano Darderi of Italy, in Perugia on Sunday.

The big stage, at Wimbledon later this month and potentially the Olympics, awaits in what has already been a career-best season for the Jhajjar native. But after fighting hard for this long-awaited consistency, Nagal now has to make it count.