Davis Cup 2023: Rohan Bopanna in India team for World Group I playoff tie vs Denmark
Ramkumar Ramathan, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Yuki Bhambri and Mukund Sasikumar are the other members of the five-member squad. Sumit Nagal is a reserve.
Tennis
Veteran Rohan Bopanna has been named in the Indian tennis team for the upcoming Davis Cup 2023 World Group I playoffs tie against Denmark, which will be played on February 3 and 4 at the Royal Stage Stadium in the Danish city of Hillerod.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) named a five-member squad for the Denmark tie on Saturday. Besides Rohan Bopanna, Mukund Sasikumar, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri are the other four Indian tennis players in the team.
Former India No. 1 Sumit Nagal has been named as the reserve player while former player Rohit Rajpal will continue as the non-playing captain of the Indian Davis Cup team.
Rohit Rajpal, who has represented India in the competition in the past, has been the non-playing captain of the team since the 2019 Davis Cup tie against Pakistan. Zeeshan Ali will serve as the team’s coach.
A Davis Cup tie comprises five matches - four singles and one doubles. Rohan Bopanna, a doubles specialist, is certain to play in the doubles match and it remains to be seen who partners the Grand Slam winner.
Mukund Sasikumar, ranked world No. 340 in the latest ATP tennis rankings for singles, is currently India’s best-ranked player, followed by Prajnesh Gunneswaran (348). Ramkumar Ramanathan is ranked 434th while Yuki Bhambri occupies the 551st position.
Reserve player Sumit Nagal, who missed much of the 2022 season with injury, is 502nd
India have a 2-1 head-to-head record against Denmark in the Davis Cup. While they lost their first meeting in 1927, India won 3-2 in 1984. The two teams’ most recent meeting was in the same stage of the competition last year, where India clean-swept 4-0 and progressed to Group I, where they lost to Norway.
The 19-year-old Holger Rune, the 11th-ranked singles player in the world, will potentially be India’s biggest threat from the Danish side in the upcoming fixture.
The Indian tennis team’s best performances at the Davis Cup came in 1966, 1974 and 1987, when they finished as the runners-up.
India tennis squad vs Denmark for Davis Cup 2023 World Group I playoffs
Squad: Rohan Bopanna, Mukund Sasikumar, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Yuki Bhambri
Reserve: Sumit Nagal
Captain: Rohit Rajpal
Coach: Zeeshan Ali