US Open: India's Sumit Nagal gets direct entry into singles main draw

New York: Young Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal has received a direct entry into the US Open singles main draw after several top players pulled out of the Grand Slam starting August 31.

The world no.127 was the last man to receive direct entry into the field of 128, which was determined using the latest ATP rankings, according to the tournament website.

Nagal is the only Indian in the men’s field with Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked 132, missing out.

Last year, Nagal reached his maiden Grand Slam here, after winning all his qualifying round matches to set up a dream encounter with the legendary Roger Federer.

In the much-anticipated clash, the 22-year old from Jhajjar took a set off Federer before going down 6-4 1-6 2-6 4-6.

Three-time US Open champion and world no 1 Novak Djokovic headline the field with the likes of Federer and Rafael Nadal giving the tournament a miss.

While Federer has withdrawn from all competitions this year owing to a knee injury, defending champion Nadal pulled out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former champion Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini, and Gael Monfils are the other top players missing from the men’s field.

Professional tennis tours have been on a hiatus since March because of the coronavirus outbreak, with play resuming for women at Palermo Ladies Open this week in Italy.