India’s tennis sensation Sumit Nagal climbed 18 places to 77th in the latest ATP rankings issued on Monday. Earlier, Nagal clinched the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger crown with a victory over Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard in three hard-fought sets: 6-1, 7-6(7-5), 6-3.
After winning the Chennai Open on home soil earlier in the year, this was Nagal’s second ATP Challenger victory of the year. Nagal looks good to qualify for the last available ranking-enabled spot in the draw for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
“Elated to win the title in Heilbronn this week. It was an important week for me, and I’m proud to have produced my best tennis when it mattered the most,” Nagal posted on X after his final win. “If I win a match like this, I can be proud because the fight was insane. Ranking is secondary; the first goal is to play good tennis,” he said at the end of his match.
Since 2023, the 26-year-old Nagal, who is presently ranked No. 1 in India, has won four ATP Challenger titles; this victory in Heilbronn marked his fourth clay-court championship.
The Indian tennis player participated in the recent French Open, losing in the opening round.
Earlier, Jannik Sinner climbed to World No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on Monday, becoming the first Italian to achieve the feat. With this historic feat, the 22-year-old became just the 29th player since the rankings’ inception in 1973 to climb to World No. 1. The Italian also dethroned the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic for the World No. 1 ranking with 9,525 points. Meanwhile, the Serbian dropped two spots to third position (8,360) after he withdrew before his quarter-final clash in Paris due to injury.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz moved up one place to second after his French Open 2024 triumph. Alcaraz became the second-youngest clay-court major champion since 2000, at the age of 21.
Following his victories on hard courts at the 2022 US Open and on grass at the 2023 Wimbledon, 21-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest player to win a Grand Slam championship on three separate surfaces with his four-hour, 19-minute victory on the Paris clay.
(Inputs: ANI)