Bengaluru, Jan 24 (PTI) Sumit Nagal on Wednesday became the only Indian to earn a direct entry into the Bengaluru Open, an ATP Challenger tournament, to be held here from February 10.

Last week, Nagal scripted history as he became only the second Indian male player after Somdev Devvarman to advance to the second round of the Australian Open, after he defeated world no. 27 Alexander Bublik in his opener.

With the cut-off for the Bengaluru Open being at 257, the 137th-ranked Nagal will be among the 21 players from 11 countries to qualify for the main draw of the ATP 100 Challenger tournament.

“This edition is expected to be high on challenges, there are many strong contenders, making this edition more challenging and definitely exciting to watch. My journey continues, and I am enthusiastic about going back on court and making a lasting impact,” Nagal, who won Bengaluru Open in 2017, said in a release.

France’s Benzamin Bonze, at world no. 106, is the highest-ranked player.

“With eight players ranked in the top 200, including four within the top 150, the level of tennis is such that distinguishing between players in the 100-200 range is challenging,” said Priyank Kharge, chairman of the organising committee and a state minister.

The tournament is organised by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) at the KSLTA Stadium.

Each of the last five editions, held between 2018 and 2023, have thrown different singles winners.

In 2023, Australia’s Max Purcell won the title while Aleksandar Vukic and Tseng Chun-hsin emerged winners in consecutive events in 2022.

India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran won the trophy in 2018 while James Duckworth was the winner in 2020. The tournament was not held in 2019 and 2021.

Source: PTI News