Sumit Nagal set to play fifth Grand Slam, earns direct entry in Australian Open

The 98th-ranked Nagal, who features in the entry list released by Tennis Australia on Friday, had to go through the qualifying rounds in the competition's previous edition.

In the first round, Nagal had stunned the 31st seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in straight sets to record a win by 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (5), becoming the first Indian player to beat a seeded player in the main draw in singles at Grand Slam in 34 years.

However, Nagal's journey ended in the following round with a defeat to wild-card Shang Juncheng of China.