to emulate him.

"He's just too good. You never want to copy him. If you watch Federer and what he's doing with the ball and then you try to do the same, you're just going to break your racquets. It's never going to happen. That's why he's not my idol. Just too good. That's how I see it."

***

Nagal's story began many years before he stepped on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Flash back to 2005, when the Jhajjar native was eight years old.

In Japan, they play baseball. In Brazil, football is life. But in India, cricket is religion. Nagal grew up wanting to pursue his nation's most popular sport, often playing for eight to 10 hours a day, but his father dissuaded him.Suresh Nagal would take his son to the local sports club and upon seeing the tennis courts there, he grabbed a racquet and started hitting.

"The first day, I played a member of the club and put one ball in the court. I was so happy. After 40 minutes, I put one ball in and I was like 'yeah dad!'. In six months, I got better and better after so many hours. My father believed in hours over talent. When you're eight, it's pretty late to start tennis."

Then, just two years later, the moment that would launch his tennis career had finally arrived. Indian legend Mahesh Bhupathi was holding a selection, akin to tryouts, for admittance into his academy. One of the cities where the selection was held was