Sumit Nagal thread

[jayakris]

Very strange. Clearly not a fitness issue given he plays week after week.

Probably just a coincidence. Maybe he just kept running into players who are hot in the semis. I can't find another reason. He doesn't seem to have stamina or other health issues. Unlike finals, when some players may have a choking behavior, these are semifinals, so it can't be a mental matter. Actually he doesn't have pressure from points dropping off or anything either. So I have to assume that it is just a strange coincidence.

[sameerph]

Yes, 5 consecutive challenger semi final losses is strange. If he had been able to covert at least 2 of those into title wins, he would been ranked in 160's instead of 204 that is he currently at live rankings. As Jay said it may be just a coincidence and hope he gets past that soon. In any case reaching 5 challenger semi finals in his last 7 challengers is very consistent indeed. I do not remember any Indian having such level of consistency at challenger level in a long time particularly on clay.

Now it seems he is taking 2 weeks break and then into 3 ATP tournaments qualies ( Umag,Hamburg,Kitzbuhel.

[sameerph]

As per updates on Nansel acadamy where Sumit trains Sumit did not have anything left in the tank after playing continuously for last 3 weeks.He reached semi finals for 3 consecutive weeks. So, those were a lot of matches he played in 3 weeks.

He is now at a career high ranking of 204. And this time his ranking is achieved thru consistent performances over last 3 months period as opposed to 1 big title like last time. So, now this ranking will be more sustainable. As of now he is taking one week break after which he will playing Braunschweig Challenger and then Umag ATP qualies the week after that.

[arjun2761]

From that website it appears that Sumit's fitness is being managed by Milos Galecic who was also Somdev's fitness trainer. Looks like he has made a significant difference to Sumit's performance in these tough clay challengers in Europe.

[gbelday]

Yes, from what I heard, Somdev was the one who recommended Milos to Sumit. He’s definitely in good hands. I also don’t think we should read too much into the semifinals losses. He is getting better each day and it’s just a matter of time.

[prasen9]

... He is getting better each day and it’s just a matter of time.

... he gets injured?

[jayakris]

... He is getting better each day and it’s just a matter of time.

... he gets injured?

Yeah, that is basically how it goes for our guys.

[gbelday]

Yeah that’s because they never had that physical base to begin with. How many of our juniors really focused on physical training when they were in their formative years? Zero! That’s not their fault. There’s just no awareness of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. By the time they realize, it’s too late to build that foundation. The body is just not equipped to handle the pounding and it eventually breaks down. It happened to Yuki, Pranjala, Prajnesh (until he started addressing it) and many others..

[jayakris]

But Sumit has been grinding it out with some high level training from a young age, I think. At least since around 12 or so.... Hopefully he won't have terrible injury problems in his career.

[Dinesh]

Sumit withdrew from Umag Q.

[jayakris]

Sumit withdrew from Umag Q.

So, was Prasen prophetic above?

[knarayen]

Yeah that’s because they never had that physical base to begin with. How many of our juniors really focused on physical training when they were in their formative years? Zero! That’s not their fault. There’s just no awareness of what it takes to succeed at the highest levels. By the time they realize, it’s too late to build that foundation. The body is just not equipped to handle the pounding and it eventually breaks down. It happened to Yuki, Pranjala, Prajnesh (until he started addressing it) and many others..

Couldn’t have said it better myself. But the fault isn’t entirely with the players. Back in the day, our coach who was trained in the fitness mantra at NIS in the early 60’s was one of the very few who emphasized physical training alongside tennis training. The coaching situation never changed throughout the 60’s,70’s,80’s,90’s,2000s even though other sports - cricket, badminton, hockey had already caught on. Tennis still remained in the purview of the ‘ladies tea party country club’ effete club of indian tennis and political leaders, jealously guarding their prized social positions while paying lip service. None of this has changed to this day. And corporate India, with the exception of the very few, hasn’t changed much either.

Prof

[sameerph]

Sumit is back on courts after 3 weeks break and is playing big ATP qualies at Hamburg.

At Hamburg Euoropean Open, Germany (ATP 500) (Clay)

[Q1] Sumit Nagal (IND,205) vs. Sabestian Ofner (GER,138)

Tough match first up as expected in this big tournament.

[sameerph]

And Sumit starts with an excellent win over a top 150 player.

At Hamburg Euoropean Open, Germany (ATP 500) (Clay)

[Q1] Sumit Nagal (IND,205) d. Sabestian Ofner (GER,138) 75 62

Next,

[Q2] Sumit Nagal (IND,205) vs. (3) Alejandra Dadovich Fokina (ESP,128)

Fokina qualified for main draw of French open this year and also made the SF of Estoril ATP just before that. So, this is a real tough one for Sumit and will show where Sumit stand against top claycourters as of now.

[prasen9]

Yeah that’s because they never had that physical base to begin with. ... That’s not their fault.

Gautam hit the nail on the head. He has seen his son and I have seen my daughter train. I am sure Jay has seen his son train too. The culture here is to make the kids aware of building a good "physical base" irrespective of whether you are doing weightlifting or chess (okay, may be not general chess, but top-tier chess) and they are correct in doing so. I think India is changing and the next generation of kids will be better.