Sumit Nagal thread

[prasen9]

None of our players threw anything away. They all tried. This level of tennis is hard on the body. And they did not have the body. They are also not the only ones who fleeting appear in the top-100 and then fall off due to injuries, etc. Maybe we have more than usual who get injured long-term. But, that may be due to poorer nutrition, training, etc. during developmental years. Or poorer basic technique that puts more strain on the body. Etc. Let us see what he does.

I fully expect him to lose to Rune. But, I am hoping he will be competitive against 30-80 types and even top 150 types in the following tournaments and win more than lose.

Somdev won an Asian Games gold in doubles and a final in the LA Open with Huey I think. I think he did not want to be a doubles specialist. Or, he saw limited upside in that and did not want to be just a top-100 doubles player. Did not motivate him that way. So, Sumit can pair up with a big server and you can have a fire and ice combo although it is hard in doubles with a weaker serve. But, maybe his upside there is also not that great. Thus, singles first for now.

[Sanjay]

What I meant is that Sumit has gone through a lot of difficulty to get to where he is, so that usually gives the person more maturity and wisdom about how to handle things. I am sure he will be very smart in taking career decisions and playing the right tournament.

I personally think he should now stick to only ATPs so he gets enough rest, can heal and every now and then play a Challenger if he feels like the practice.

[Atithee]

Sumit hasn’t had it any harder. Please stop this overzealousness, Sanjay. We will know very soon how this pans out.

[Sanjay]

Sumit hasn’t had it any harder. Please stop this overzealousness, Sanjay. We will know very soon how this pans out.

Don't I have the right to my views and opinions? Feel free to disagree with my views, no problem. But if you try to stop people from posting on this forum because they disagree with you, then this forum will die. I have seen forums die for the same reason over the last 25 years.

Anyway, looks like the match will not happen today. I don't think Sumit was looking too good in S2 so this would be good news, he can talk to his team, change strategy as needed and come back and we all hope that he can turn it around. He has never beaten a Top 10 that I know of so if he manages that, it will be his biggest giant-felling.

[Atithee]

Sanjay, I can’t stop you. You’re right, we should all be free to share our opinions and views. I can make an appeal too, right? Please keep posting what you feel. I’m not the only one who disagreed with your one-sided adulation for Sumit.

[jayakris]

Sanjay, I can’t stop you. You’re right, we should all be free to share our opinions and views. I can make an appeal too, right? Please keep posting what you feel. I’m not the only one who disagreed with your one-sided adulation for Sumit.

Is there some kind of two-sided adulation possible?

Like adulate how great he has been, and adulate how terrible he is at the same time?

[Just trying to defuse the situation, guys... Sanjay got excited and a couple of others were like "Is Sumit the greatest thing since masala dosa delivery? Like we have not had pav bhaji before" ... Live and let live, folks...]

[arjun2761]

But masala dosa delivery is pretty awful at least in my neck of the woods.

[Sanjay]

Sanjay, I can’t stop you. You’re right, we should all be free to share our opinions and views. I can make an appeal too, right? Please keep posting what you feel. I’m not the only one who disagreed with your one-sided adulation for Sumit.

Easy boss!
Sumit is all we have, so it should be okay for us all to enjoy whatever small bits of happiness we can afford. It's not like the 70s or 80s when we had players regularly getting to slam QFs or winning ATPs. We've got nothing in singles right now and Sumit is the bright light. Sumit has done better than most male singles players we have had in recent times. Many have fizzled out.

So yes, I get excited about Sumit and though I know he doesn't know that I exist and likely does not read this board, I try and send him some best wishes to take on higher challenges. Even if he loses to Rune, what he did is pretty awesome and he should shoot for more.

[Sanjay]

But masala dosa delivery is pretty awful at least in my neck of the woods.

Speaking of Masala Dosa, when I moved to the US 20+ years ago, someone took me to an Indian restaurant. I saw "Mysore Masala Dosa" and got very excited. And also confused. Now I am from Mysore. How the hell did I not know what Mysore Masala Dosa was? I know what Mysore Pak was. In Mysore itself, it is just called "Masaal Dose". Only later did I find out that the red chutney was the Mysore part.

No good MD in my area here in the US but luckily my wife makes it better than most restaurants!

[prasen9]

I think Sumit will be smarter than these guys. He has more information and awareness. He has had to struggle a lot so he won't throw it away.

I am sorry Yuki did not throw it away or any of our other guys were stupid. We may disagree on a bit of their scheduling here and there but they have the full information and we do not often know the context, cost, personal issues, mental health, etc. Please understand that every of our players had to struggle. And, Yuki has some of the best information and awareness possible. Sometimes our bodies cannot do it. Do you know how much impact serving and hitting so many balls day in and day out has on our body and the repetitive stress that causes? One just cannot do anything if our bodies can't take it.

[Sanjay]

I think Sumit will be smarter than these guys. He has more information and awareness. He has had to struggle a lot so he won't throw it away.

I am sorry Yuki did not throw it away or any of our other guys were stupid. We may disagree on a bit of their scheduling here and there but they have the full information and we do not often know the context, cost, personal issues, mental health, etc. Please understand that every of our players had to struggle. And, Yuki has some of the best information and awareness possible. Sometimes our bodies cannot do it. Do you know how much impact serving and hitting so many balls day in and day out has on our body and the repetitive stress that causes? One just cannot do anything if our bodies can't take it.

I don't agree that they have the full information. For that they would need an experienced coach and most of our players don't have the money for that. Sumit was in financial trouble as late as last year. Indian sports is very poorly managed, and I find it amazing that Ramanathan Krishnan and Vijay achieved all that they did on their own with no help, and no sponsors. Our guys learn as they go.
Maybe things will change in the future like it has in cricket and badminton.

[prasen9]

Yuki Bhambri had access to the Bolliteri Academy and generally had access to decent coaches. They did not have traveling coaches who would help them point to point in a mach but to prevent injuries you do not need ball by ball advice. I believe he had advice to professionals who could advise him on injury prevention, come up with a good plan on what to do and what not to do, and that is the best one can do wrt avoiding injuries. When you are playing a tournamen the host has a doctor on site, who is always avialable to give advice related to injuries and injury prevention. Longer term fitness and planning to avoid injuries they must have had at Bolliteri's and the German one where Sumit has trained. Sumit has been in an academy since he was 10. First with MB, then with Mahal, and the last 10 years or so in Germany. He had access to good health advice throughout. That is different from having a coach who plans strategy, helps in practice, observes games to improve your play, etc. They did not have money for that. But, they had full information on the right training, nutrition, fitness, etc. to avoid injuries. Injuries just happen. Not because of what they did not did not do.

[Sanjay]

Sumit is now 93 and will go to 80 when the rankings come out.
Any guesses when he will hit the next milestone of 61? 62 is Somdev's best ranking.

[sameerph]

As per this article, Sumit is going to take a break of 2-3 weeks-

Sumit Nagal hits career-high ATP ranking of 80

But then, after non-stop travel and tennis, he needs a break. He will not be playing for the next two weeks. “I will be training for the next two or three weeks and then play again,” Nagal told RevSportz.

[arjun2761]

Taking breaks to recover and train is what the top players do as they typically play multiple hard fought matches each week that they play. So, fingers crossed on that is what he is doing (and hopefully he isn't fighting some niggle or injury). I guess we'll only find out when he plays next.

The clay season is where has the most likelihood to do well Thankfully, the clay tournaments are played for most of the year, so that is a plus for him. Good luck to him on his journey to #61!

BTW, I am happy that sponsors are turning out for him but RS 10 lakhs (around $12K) is a pretty small amount for an international tennis player. Surprised that they had a function to celebrate that relatively small amount although I'm sure Sumit is happy to get whatever help he can get. Hopefully, he will earn at least $600K this year (or more) if he plays all of the other 3 slams in the main draw (and perhaps wins a round in one of them).