Sumit Nagal introduced India again into the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie towards Denmark with a come-from-behind win within the second singles after the dismissal of Yuki Bhambri within the opening match.
It was all the time going to be a troublesome job for Bhambri to tackle world quantity 9 Holger Roone and it got here as no shock as Denmark’s high singles participant gained 6-2 6-2 on Friday to edge the hosts 1-1. Forwarded from 0.
Yuki wanted a particular effort towards a powerful opponent however he was defeated in simply 58 minutes.
India’s primary Nagal, nonetheless, defeated August Holmgren 4-6 6-3 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes to finish the primary day at 1-1.
The 25-year-old Nagal, ranked 506, dropped serve within the very first recreation of the match however as soon as he received over his nerves, he was the fighter he all the time was.
He received the break again however squandered it when Holmgren gave him one. The Danish participant, ranked 484, ultimately gained the set.
In the second set, Nagal took the primary place and went forward 5-2. He held serve within the ninth recreation to win the set within the decider.
Nagal had an opportunity to get the primary break when he returned deep and Holmgren’s forehand return went to the baseline at 30-all however the residence participant served properly to save lots of the prospect.
Nagal received one other likelihood when Holmgren netted a forehand at deuce level within the third recreation however he himself made a forehand error on break level.
While Nagal most popular to hit from the baseline, Holmgren usually charged the online to create possibilities for volley winners.
Holmgren gave Nagal one other break when he tried to take a low volley however couldn’t preserve the ball in court docket and adopted it up with a double fault to permit the Indian to take a 3-2 lead.
The lead remained with Nagal and he got here to serve for the match within the tenth recreation. Holmgren’s forehand error gave the Indian three match factors and transformed the primary on an unforced error by the house staff’s participant.
In the opening singles, the 19-year-old broke Bhambri in each the units. Roon transformed 4 out of seven break possibilities whereas the Indian did not get a single likelihood to interrupt his opponent’s serve.
Roone performed centurion tennis whereas Yuki struggled together with her first serve, double faulting 4 occasions in a one-sided contest performed on indoor arduous courts. Yuki has give up singles on the ATP Tour.
Doubles and reverse singles might be performed on Saturday. If India loses this tie, it will likely be relegated to World Group II.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
