BENGALURU: Star Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal was on Tuesday awarded a wild card entry into the singles main draw of the Bengaluru Open, scheduled to begin here from February 20.
The 25-year-old former India No. 1 is the first wild card entrant at the fifth edition of the prestigious ATP Challenger event, which will be organised by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at the KSLTA Stadium in Bengaluru.
“We are delighted to give Nagal the first wild card. He is an excellent player and has won his maiden ATP Challenger title here. We are committed to providing our Indian players a world-class platform to rub shoulders with the best names from the tennis world through this tournament.
“Nagal is one of those players who have performed well here and carried that momentum to do well in their careers,” said Sunil Yajaman, tournament director of Bengaluru Open and joint secretary of KSLTA.
Nagal won his first ATP Challenger title at this tournament in 2017 and went on to put up some impressive performances thereafter in his career. He also had quarter-final and pre-quarterfinal finishes during his other two outings at this tournament in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
“Playing at the Bengaluru Open has always been special for me as it’s the place where I won my first Challenger. Good memories, good vibes and playing in front of an energetic audience is always fun, so I’m extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to compete at the tournament again. I’m extremely thankful to KSLTA for awarding me a wild card for this prestigious event and I hope to make the best use of it,” Nagal said.
Nagal will be part of the singles field comprising former world No. 10 Lucas Pouille and last year’s champion Chun-hsin Tseng among others.
The Qualifiers will be played on February 19 and 20 while the main draw begins on February 20.