Biel: Pulled out of reserves, Dhakshineshwar Suresh stunned higher-ranked Jerome Kym of Switzerland in straight sets before Sumit Nagal made a triumphant return to the Davis Cup, placing India on the cusp of a rare win against a European side in an away tie, here Friday.
Captain Rohit Rajpal showed immense faith in Dhakshineshwar, playing him ahead of Aryan Shah, and the tall Chennai player did not disappoint, coming out a 7-6 (4) 6-3 winner against 155th ranked Kym.
Dhakshineshwar is placed 626 on the ATP charts but his stupendous game and confidence belied his low ranking. He charged the net a lot more after measuring the game of his opponent who seemed to be lacking a plan B.
Nagal, who is now struggling to stay inside top-300 after being in top-100 last year, made a winning return to the Davis Cup with a 6-3 7-6 (4) result against Marc-Andrea Huesler that gave India a commanding 2-0 lead at the end of day one.
India are now very close to pulling off a memorable Davis Cup win on the European soil as they need to win one of the three matches on Saturday.