'Take it one step at a time': Devvarman’s advice to Sumit Nagal on Wimbledon debut

New Delhi: This year’s Wimbledon will see Sumit Nagal make his maiden appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon, the grandest stage in the tennis circuit. Former India number one, Somdev Devvarman had some advice for the 26-year-old rising star.

“Take it one step at a time for now. I think it's important. It's a good achievement to be inside the top 100. Immediately you get to see your main draw here. You get to play a few more tournaments. He was the main draw in Geneva last week. He's going to play a few of the grass-court events probably. It's just a lot of positive things, you know, I think don't look so far ahead right now. Obviously, the important thing for this phase in the calendar, just before it gets incredibly physical and it's a very different kind of movement," Devvarman told IANS.

Nagal is one of the bright lights for Indian tennis in recent times, which has also seen him break into the top 100 in World Rankings. He is all set to take to the clay court and the French Open where he will face World number 18, Karen Khachanov in the first round on Sunday.

“He's got a great team. His team has been around professional players for 20-plus years now, you know, so they really know how to make that transition. They've helped him incredibly well so far to make the adjustments to be top 100 to play against quality players.

"So I have no doubt that they'll get him ready. In these situations, when you're in the Majors but not seeded sometimes you require luck. We've seen that in different parts of the draw so right now he just kind of has to make the best of his opportunities and, play with your heart, leave it all out there,” concluded the 39-year-old Devvarman.

Somdev Devvarman is an expert panelist on Sony Sports Network's studio show Extraaa Serve for Roland Garros 2024.