On February 12, 2024, Nagal will become a player ranked 98 in the world as champion of the ATP Chennai Open Challenger.
And as the Indian wiped away tears after winning the final on Sunday, it showed what the latest landmark in this terrific turnaround tale, less than a month after qualifying for the 2024 Australian Open and beating 27th seed Alexander Bublik in the first round, meant for him.
Nagal will break into the top 100 of ATP's singles rankings for the first time in his career, a place he earned after beating top seed Luca Nardi of Italy 6-1, 6-4 for the title in Chennai that will see him jump from 121 to 98 in the updated rankings on Monday.
A top-100 spot in singles is a key milestone for any professional tennis player, one where only 10 Indian men have ever gone since the ATP rankings were introduced in 1973. The list includes some of the finest from the country (Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes, Somdev Devvarman, etc) and hasn't seen an entrant in five years since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019.
This story is from the February 12, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 12, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Put A Period To The Silent Suffering
As Neha Bhasin's struggle with premenstrual dysphoric disorder has sparked a discussion, let's dive deep into this medical disorder
Keerthy Suresh confirms relationship with Antony Thattil
Actor Keerthy Suresh, who is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Baby John co-starring Varun Dhawan, recently shared her first-ever picture with long-time boyfriend, businessman Antony Thattil, on Instagram.
After brother Chay, Akhil Akkineni is also engaged
Days ahead of actor Naga Chaitanya's wedding with actor Sobhita Dhulipala on December 4, his younger brother, actor Akhil Akkineni, 30, has also announced his engagement with artist Zulfi Ravdjee, 39.
RUPALI'S STEPDAUGHTER RELEASES 'FINAL' STATEMENT AFTER DEFAMATION SUIT
Actor Rupali Ganguly's stepdaughter Esha Verma criticised the defamation case against her in a recent post, clarifying that she was only exercising her rights
FEUD INTENSIFIES AS DHANUSH SUES NAYANTHARA
After Nayanthara accused Dhanush of a 'personal grudge', the actor has filed a suit against her for using footage from his production without authorisation
Delivering an Olympics, a complicated process
Sebastian Coe, the only man in Olympic history to win back-to-back 1,500m gold medals, who heads World Athletics and is in the running to be the next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), brought up the Perth Test.
Anticipated shuffle: Rohit and Gill for Padikkal, Jurel
The focus at this weekend's warm-up game will be on changes India could make for Adelaide's pink-ball Test match
Gvardiol errors emblematic of what is going wrong at Manchester City
Erling Haaland had scored on either side of half-time and between the Norwegian's goals, Ilkay Guendogan's sweetly struck left-footer took a deflection beating the impressive Timon Wellenreuther in Feyenoord's goal.
Wrestler Bajrang to appeal against doping verdict
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia said he will appeal against the four-year ban imposed by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for an anti-doping rule violation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.
Gukesh strikes back, records his first classical win over Ding
The Indian teenager and Chinese world champion Ding Liren are tied on 1.5 points after Game 3, going into the first rest day
