Sumit Nagal sealed the problem for India as he beat the 18-yr-outdated Henry Bernet 6-1, 6-3 within the fourth rubber for a 3-1 victory over Switzerland within the Davis Cup World Group-1 tennis tie in Biel on Saturday.
Nagal had closed the primary day for India at 2-0 by successful his singles after Dhakshineswar Suresh had given a dream begin by beating the Swiss No.1 Jerome Kym in straight units. The 28-yr-outdated was happy to make sure victory for the group.
India had misplaced the powerful doubles match because the Swiss pair of Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker beat Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli in a gripping contest 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5.
That made it energetic for the followers within the indoor area. The Swiss changed their No.1 Jerome with the younger lad who had gained the Australian Open junior singles title this yr. However, by the point the teenager settled to play his fluent recreation, hitting single-handed backhands with a flourish, and working like a rabbit everywhere in the court docket, Nagal had tightened his grip on the match.
âIt has been a while for us to win in Europe. We all pushed each other a lot in the team. We are happy with the win. The doubles was tough. The level was very high. I was sweating more, watching the match from the sidelines. When I had to play the young guy, I knew he was good. Young ones are always tricky as you donât know how they play. I was happy with the way I played the match,â mentioned Nagal, fairly delighted to have gained two of the three factors for India, on the indoor laborious courts.
It was a masterstroke by the captain Rohit Rajpal and the group to have introduced in reserve participant Dhakshineswar Suresh to play on the primary day. Once Dhakshineswar asserted his massive recreation, India had the higher likelihood in opposition to the host, particularly with Nagal taking part in near his finest.
The Indian pair may have gained the doubles however at 4-4 within the second set, after having gained the primary, Balaji and Bollipalli did not convert three breakpoints within the ninth recreation on Paulâs serve.
Quite considerably, debutant Bollipalli dropped serve at love within the tenth recreation.
In the decider, the Indian pair went up 3-1 however Sriram Balajiâs serve received damaged within the sixth recreation. Serving to remain within the match at 5-6, Bollipalli dropped serve at love, to offer what proved to be a face saving level for the Swiss, on their residence soil.
As captain Rajpal had noticed beforehand, it was a 50-50 match for India in each singles and doubles. The Indian group did nicely to win in fashion by clinching three singles factors in an away tie in Europe, in opposition to such a robust opponent like Switzerland.
The outcomes: India bt Switzerland 3-1 (Sriram Balaji & Rithvik Bollipalli misplaced to Jakub Paul & Dominik Stricker 7-6(3), 4-6, 5-7; Sumit Nagal bt Henry Bernet 6-1, 6-3).
