Davis Cup 2023: Sumit Nagal leads India’s comeback against Denmark on opening day
Yuki Bhambri lost to world No. 9 Holger Rune in straight sets before Sumit Nagal mounted a comeback against August Holmgren.
Tennis
Sumit Nagal led India’s fightback against hosts Denmark on the first day of the Davis Cup 2023 World Group I play-offs after Yuki Bhambri lost the opening match in Hillerod on Friday.
With one win and one loss, India will enter the second day needing to win at least two of the three remaining matches to win the five-match World Group I play-off tie.
The Indian tennis team was pushed on the backfoot by hosts Denmark after Yuki Bhambri, a former top-100 player in the ATP Rankings, lost to world No. 9 Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 in the first rubber.
Playing on the indoor hard courts of the Royal Stage Stadium, Holger Rune, who beat tennis great Novak Djokovic to win the Paris Masters in November, proved too clinical for Bhambri. The Indian tennis player looked good in patches but was broken twice in each set and lost the match in 58 minutes.
In the second match, Sumit Nagal had the worst possible start against world No. 484 August Holmgren as he was broken in the first game without scoring a point.
The Indian tennis player engaged in longer rallies from thereon and extracted some unforced errors from his Danish opponent. However, Nagal could only win one of the six breakpoint opportunities and went down in the first set.
Sumit Nagal mounted a terrific comeback in the second set, breaking his opponent in the fourth and the sixth games. Nagal then held all his serves to take the match into the decider.
Both players fought hard to find an early break in the third set but Sumit Nagal, who missed a chunk of the 2022 season due to injury, looked fitter of the two tennis players. The Indian found the crucial break point in the fifth game and went on to win the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes.
On Saturday, Indian veteran Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri will team up for the doubles against Christian Sigsgaard and Johannes Ingildsen.
Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri will face Holger Rune and August Holmgren, respectively, in the reverse singles rubbers.
The Indian tennis team will need to win the tie to stay in the Davis Cup 2023 World Group I stage. A loss will see them drop into Group II for the first time.