Davis Cup: Dhakshineshwar, Nagal shine as India take 2-0 lead against Switzerland

New Delhi: Pulled out of reserves, Dhakshineshwar Suresh shocked the higher-ranked Jerome Kym in straight sets, followed by Sumit Nagal's impressive return to the Davis Cup, putting India on the verge of a rare victory against the hosts, Switzerland, in the tournament on Friday.

Captain Rohit Rajpal showed immense faith in Dhakshineshwar and played him ahead of Aryan Shah. The Chennai player did not disappoint his skipper and defeated Jerome 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Also Read

Man United speed up hiring process for next manager after meetings with Carrick, Solskjaer

After Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar ruled out of ODI series against New Zealand - Report

Football round-up: Barcelona edge Real Madrid to lift Spanish Super Cup, Man United knocked out of FA Cup

Dhakshineshwar is ranked 626th on the ATP charts, but his stunning game and confidence far exceeded his ranking. He approached the net frequently after assessing his opponent's gameplay, who seemed to be lacking a plan B.

Dhakshineshwar faced early pressure from his opponent and made consecutive unforced errors, going down 0-40 in the fourth game. He reeled off five straight points to keep the match even. At 30-all in the sixth game, he kept hitting on the backhand of his opponent and found a backhand winner himself to close the game.

The first set went into a tiebreaker, where Dhakshineshwar led 5-3 after a powerful forehand and sealed the set with a backhand lob. In the second set, Kym had break points, but Dhakshineshwar saved them with big serves and broke Kym to take a 5-3 lead, maintaining control of the match. The Indian then served out the match with an ace.

Sumit Nagal made a brilliant return to the Davis Cup with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory against Marc-Andrea Huesler to give India a commanding 2-0 lead at the end of day one. India are now very close to winning the Davis Cup on European soil as the country only needs to win just one match out of three.

Add TV9 English As A Trusted Source

Huesler is ranked 68 places above the Indian at 222, but Nagal delivered one of the most competitive performances in his Davis Cup career to hand India the advantage. He broke left-handed Huesler in the very first game of the second singles, and his tactics, court movement and angled shots left no breathing space for the Swiss player.

Huesler was serving to stay in the set, but made consecutive forehand errors to gift the Indian a crucial break and the set. At 5-5 and 30-all in the second set, Nagal came under pressure as Huesler found a winner to earn a breakpoint, but Nagal saved that. The match was sealed in the tie-breaker with Nagal producing a brilliant forehand winner to end the contest.