10 facts about India's young tennis stalwart that you ought to know: Sumit Nagal

Mumbai: India's Sumit Nagal, after clinching the first set in his US Open draw debut suffered defeat against tennis great Roger Federer at the Arthur Ashe stadium from New York.

Nagal was born in the Jaitpur village of Jhajjar in Haryana to Suresh Nagal, a teacher and Krishna Devi Nagal, a homemaker.

Here are 10 things that you need to know about the young Indian who defeated Roger Federer in his first set.

• Sumit Nagal has become only the fifth Indian men’s singles player player to feature in a Grand Slam main draw in this decade.
   
• Nagal initially wanted to pursue cricket as his career and often played cricket eight to nine hours a day. But, his father diverted his attention from cricket to tennis
   
• Nagal turned professional in 2015 and has so far earned over USD 153,000 in prize money.
   
• Nagal is currently ranked 190 in the world, which is his career highest.
   
• The US Open marked Nagal’s Grand Slam debut, with 20-time major winner Roger Federer on the other side of the net.
   
• Nagal's favourite tennis surfaces are clay and hard court, while the US Open is his favourite Grand Slam.
   
• Nagal has become only the fifth Indian men’s singles player to feature in a Grand Slam main draw in this decade.
   
• Nagal was a member of Mahesh Bhupathi's ill-fated Mission 2018 initiative of producing an Indian Grand Slam Champion by 2018.
   
• Nagal is also passionate about the Japanese culture and has an arm full of tattoos depicting a temple, a samurai and a lotus flower.
   
• He is being supported by the Virat Kohli Foundation's Athlete Development Programme and has been sponsoring Nagal's tournaments, training expenses, nutrition and every other requirement.