Sumit Nagal eyes comeback at Bengaluru Open 2018

Recovering from a shoulder injury, defending champion Sumit Nagal will be keen to perform at the 2018 Bengaluru Open.

Sumit Nagal, ranked 310 in the world, will go into the 2018 Bengaluru Open as the defending champion.

Struggling for form this season, Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal says he is gradually getting back to his best after recovering from a shoulder injury.

Nagal will defend his Bengaluru Open title but the youngster is not putting himself under pressure. The 21-year-old said he had spent a lot of time searching for a new coach this summer and then suffered an injury which kept him out for the last three months.

“I am spending a lot of time on the tennis court and I'm back to what I was playing. Due to injuries, I was on and off the court every alternate week” he said.

Nagal, who now trains with Serbia’s Milos Galecic, has suffered first round defeats in his previous three tournaments, including one at the hands of fellow Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan at the Shenzhen Challenger.

“With tennis, you never know what is going to happen. You can beat anyone and lose to anyone. For me it is always round by round. Anything is possible in tennis world,” he said when asked how he rates his chances at the upcoming Bengaluru Open.

Nagal said Yuki Bhambri's absence would be a setback for the event. “I would have loved to see Yuki playing here. He also missed two to three tournaments because of a knee injury” he said.

“Yuki also pulls in a lot of fans into the stadium, which was evident last year. People flock to see their best player sweating out, but this year, they are going to miss him,” he added.