Sumit Nagal became the youngest Indian in 25 years to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament on Friday, when he beat Joao Menezes of Brazil in New York on Friday.
Nagal, who is currently placed 190th in the World Rankings, beat Menezes in a three-set thriller, showing great composure in beating the Brazilian 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. The Indian youngster was down 1-4 in the second set before making a remarkable comeback to seal a place in the US Open main draw.
He will meet Switzerland's tennis great Roger Federer in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament. The match is scheduled to be played on Tuesday morning at 6:30 AM IST.
This will be his first-ever appearance in a Grand Slam. Nagal has earlier won the 2015 Wimbledon Boys' Doubles title.
He is the second Indian to take part in men's singles event this year in US Open, with Prajnesh Gunneswaran securing automatic qualification earlier.
Gunneswaran has been pitted against fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who recently clinched the Cincinnati Masters title. The clash is scheduled at 10 PM IST on Monday night.
This is the first time since 1998 when two Indians are participating in the men's singles of a grand slam tournament. In 1998 Wimbledon, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took part.
