Sumit Nagal enters main draw of Indian Wells Open 2024 after Rafael Nadal withdraws

The Indian No. 1 will be making his maiden appearances at the BNP Paribas Open.

In what can only be termed more bad news for fans of Rafael Nadal, the ‘King of Clay’ has withdrawn from the Indian Wells Open 2024 and will be replaced by Indian No. 1 Sumit Nagal. Nadal, 37, took to Twitter to announce his decision, explaining that he was not quite ready to play at the level a tournament of this importance demands.

Last month, the 22-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the Qatar Open and subsequently missed out on the Dubai Tennis Championships. The 37-year-old Spaniard participated in an exhibition match with Carlos Alcaraz on March 3 before heading to Indian Wells. Alcaraz, Nadal’s compatriot, is the defending champion at Indian Wells.

Yet another little piece of history for Sumit Nagal!! 🔥🎾He becomes the first Indian to enter the singles main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event since 2019! 🇮🇳#Tennis pic.twitter.com/Vu7aZG9qtO

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) March 7, 2024

Nadal was to take the court against Milos Raonic, and his place in the main draw will be given to lucky loser India’s Sumit Nagal. The former World No. 1 will now shift his focus to the clay court season that begins in April.

There are three Masters events to be played on clay (Monaco, Madrid and Rome) between now and May when the 2024 French Open will get underway. Nadal has 14 titles in Roland Garros and an astounding 112-3 win-loss record at the venue. The Spaniard won his last title at the 2022 French Open in the final against Casper Ruud.

Nagal will be the first Indian to play in the main draw of an ATP Masters 1000 event since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019. The latter went through qualifying to reach the main draw of the 2019 ATP Masters 1000 at Miami.

Nadal’s loss is Nagal’s gain, presenting an opportunity for the Indian youngster to build on his resume. Meeting Milos Raonic for the first time, Nagal will have his hands full as he takes on the former World No. 3 in the first round. Raonic was a Wimbledon finalist in 2016, losing to Andy Murray.

Nagal pulled off a coup at Melbourne this year. When the Indian took out Alexander Bublik in the first round at the 2024 Australian Open, he became the first Indian man in over three decades to take out a seeded player at the Grand Slams. Nagal briefly broke into the top 100 in the ATP Rankings, becoming World No. 97 in February. Should Nagal get past Raonic, a match with World No. 7 Holger Rune awaits.

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