Every time Sumit Nagal has made the news lately, the headlines have been standout for both positive and negative reasons.
He's either the first Indian to beat a seed in Grand Slam in 35 years (beating Alexander Bublik in the Australian Open) or he's refusing to play Davis Cup tennis in Pakistan because playing grass courts isn't part of his long-term plan for the Olympics (and consequently not getting a wild card to said AO). He's either the only Indian to win a men's singles Grand Slam match in the last decade (twice, three years apart), or he's candidly admitting his financial struggles (he said in November that he had only 900 Euros in his bank account).
Like these incidents, Nagal himself is a tennis player of contradictions: He has the raw materials needed to do well at the highest level (and he largely has whenever he has gotten himself in these positions), but he has not been able to translate that into consistency, sometimes due to injuries and sometimes due to his erratic behaviour.
Which is why he has done what few Indian men's singles players can lately - make the main draw and win a match at a Grand Slam and the Olympics (Tokyo, first since Leander Paes). But also, why he is yet to break into the Top 100 rankings, his career high being only 122 achieved back in 2020. He said as much after his first-round upset, "as of now, I've never played a whole year on the ATP Tour yet. I'm looking forward to that."
All of these moments bring out the kind of personality is Nagal is, as a player and a person. Expressive and often impulsive, capable of big things on the tennis court but also prone to imploding at times.
But the kind of start he has had to the 2024 season; it appears he can finally find the right balance he needs to make that big push on the ATP Tour. At 26, the time and fitness may have finally aligned together in a way that can set the tone for a consistent tennis season.
He has already started translating his words into performance: look at the way he got to Melbourne and what he did once there.
In October 2022, he was world No 638 after a hip surgery, a position that wouldn't even get him into the qualifiers of a Challenger. From that, he has climbed up to the top 150, reaching the final of 4 Challengers in 2023 and winning two to put himself in the qualifiers of Grand Slams. This Australian Open is his first Major in over three years, getting there via the long route of qualifying after the wildcard issue.
The wildcard isn't the only time he has been involved in controversial situations with the Indian tennis federation. He was dropped from the Davis Cup squad when he was only 19 for a "serious breach of discipline". In response, Somdev had written an open letter to AITA for criticizing them for the way they handled the situation with a young player.
His ATP debut - at the 2018 Maharashtra Open, the only ATP tournament in India - also came via qualifying, not getting a wildcard entry like all other Indian players. This after winning the Bengaluru Challenger at the end of 2017. There were rumours that was because of his behaviour issues as well, but there was no verified evidence of it.
Then came the years on and off the circuit because of injuries and inconsistency, with him finally opting for surgery.
To make known his financial struggles after that was also a brave call in a way. He had been struggling on the tour after surgery and despite the backing he does have from organisations like the Virat Kohli Foundation and being mentored by Mahesh Bhupathi since he was a young kid, the prize money for players ranked below 200 is a long-standing issue in tennis.
But amid it all, he has powered through to put himself back as the 'young' player to watch out for in Indian tennis. Four years after the first big surge, when he memorably took a set of Roger Federer on Arthur Ashe at the 2019 US Open as a qualifier. Almost nine years after he won the junior boys doubles at the 2015 Wimbledon. He has battled in far-flung ATP Challengers to maximise his potential on clay, struggled with fitness and slowly built confidence and use the big stage.
It's not easy being a singles tennis player in India but with the kind of personality and promise Nagal has, he can make a mark after a long void in men's singles. The Australian Open, both performance and prize money wise, should help in setting up the platform for what can be an important year ahead.