In an exclusive chat, Indian ace Sumit Nagal unveils his goals for 2021, what he learnt from Dominic Thiem, his thoughts on tennis’ response to Black Lives Matter, his passion for Japanese culture, and much more!

It has been more than five years since you won the junior doubles title at Wimbledon. Looking back at it now, how important do you think that triumph was in terms of kick-starting your career?

I think that week was very important for me. I was at a point where I had to make a decision either to go to college or try my best to go pro (as a tennis player). I had given my ACT exams, and I had a lot of good offers from a number of universities; but when I won the doubles, it gave me this belief, this boost that maybe I can try and go pro. Since then, I could have done a few things differently, but there’s nothing I can do about the past. I’m at a decent spot right now, and I have a good feeling about this year.

In 2017, you were dropped from India’s Davis Cup team and there were rumours swirling about your disciplinary issues. Did you feel that the narrative failed to do justice to your side of the story?

First thing I want to say is... I was not dropped. I was injured, I was out for five months. But people will always say good or bad things about you, doesn’t matter who you are. But does it matter to me? No, not really.

Last year’s US Open saw you make it to the second round before falling short against Dominic Thiem, who was the eventual champion. What lessons did you learn from that contest, and particularly, from Thiem, who has a similar game to yours, in terms of aggression, intensity, and physicality?

I saw him play a lot of matches, I saw him practise a bit, but when I was there on court with him, I think it was a very different feeling to what I had expected. The intensity, the aura he brings is very high. Being on the other side, you need to step up or he is just going to eat you alive! Like I have said in the past, I am trying to copy him, trying to bring the good things in his game to mine.

The Australian Open has not been your happiest hunting ground. What are you hoping will be different this time around?

I think it’s the hunger to create a memory. When I leave Melbourne, I want to be happy, and tell myself that this is the new memory that I have created at the Australian Open. And that is what I am looking forward to.

How do you think India can produce more quality singles players, so that we have five or six Indians at every Australian Open, instead of just the one or two?

Simple, have a system. Have a system run by professionals. Have people working for the sport who actually care about it.

You grew up admiring the game’s finest like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Now that you have seen them from close quarters and even faced some of them, has your impression of them changed in any way?

It keeps surprising you... the way they keep doing things. You come back after a few weeks (and watch them) and you just go wow! They just keep on changing things, keep on improving. If you see a clip of Rafa from 2014 and compare it to now, you see a very different kind of player. Same with Djokovic... he has improved his serve massively. And Federer, to be honest, he is so gifted... don’t get me wrong, he trains very hard as well, but he’s got this thing where he makes it look so easy.

Over the last few months, we have seen how the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) has galvanised the sporting world. In the context of tennis, Naomi Osaka came out in firm support of racial equality. But do you think that, institutionally, tennis could have done more — like football, for instance — in terms of symbolic and systemic changes?

I don’t know what systemic changes would make a difference, but could the association and the players who have a big leadership role done things differently? I think so. I think they could have put a little more pressure on changing things. In tennis, things only change when top players make things change. Players like me, we don’t have much of a say in it.

Let’s shift from tennis to your other love, cricket. You must have been following India’s epic series win against Australia. What did you make of it?

It was pure fire! I couldn’t watch every minute of it, but I was checking the scores and watching the videos. It was so much fun to watch... what a way to win! I was also looking at all the memes on Instagram, and they were just too entertaining!

You have a great passion for Japanese culture, as is evident from your tattoos. Tell us how this fondness of yours came about.

When I was a kid, I used to watch a lot of cartoons, a lot of anime. But when I went to Canada, I fell in love with Japanese culture. I was alone, my entire family was in Delhi, and I was at an age where whatever you do, it kind of gets close to you. And I began watching a lot of Japanese stuff whenever I would have time to kill, and that is how I fell in love with it.

What about your food habits? Do you have any cuisine preferences, and have you learnt cooking?

I am a horrible chef... not even chef... what chef! I cannot cook. I mean, I can make something to survive, but can I call myself a good cook? No chance.... About being a foodie, I am quite easy-going. I like a lot of things, not too many things I hate. Food is food at the end of the day, you know!

Finally, any special message for your fans out there, especially those back in India?

If I have to say something about life, I would just say enjoy... life is not too long... If you are close to my age, then in a few years, you are probably going to get married and have kids. So enjoy all that, it’s all about the enjoyment!

Australian Open 2021 will be aired LIVE on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 2 and SONY TEN 3 (in Hindi) from February 8

SUMIT NAGAL FACT FILE

• As a 10-year-old, Nagal was selected to be a part of Mahesh Bhupathi’s tennis academy, where he trained for two years, before moving his training base to Toronto
• Aged 17, Nagal, along with Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam, won the 2015 Wimbledon Boys’ Doubles championships, which made Nagal only the sixth Indian in history to win a junior major
• According to the latest ATP singles rankings, Nagal occupies the 139th spot, nine places lower than fellow Indian Prajnesh Gunneswaran. Nagal’s career-high singles ranking till date saw him climb to 122 in August 2020
• Nagal currently has two ATP titles to his name, both as part of the Challenge Tour, with his victories coming in Bangalore (2017) and Buenos Aires (2019)

RAPID FIRE

Your tennis idol growing up: Rafael Nadal

Your cricketing idol growing up: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, these were the players I loved watching.

A cricketer you think would have made a good tennis player: I have heard that Virat and Yuvraj Singh like playing, so I would love to see them hold the racquet.

One tennis player you think would have made a good cricketer: I don’t want to say I would have made a great cricketer, but I just love playing cricket!

Your biggest wish for 2021: That I have an injury-free year.

Your favourite spot to hang out in Australia: The Collins and Flinders area of Melbourne.

The most special part about the Australian Open: The way they care about the players here.