Davis Cup World Group II: Sumit Nagal makes it 1-1 with fluent win

Lucknow: Sumit Nagal saved the home team the blushes with a commanding win after Sasikumar Mukund limped out of the opening singles in humid conditions as India and Morocco shared honours on the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group II tie here on Saturday.

A brief spell of rain before the match made the conditions challenging, and it came down to the fitness levels of the players.

After being on court for three hours and five minutes, the 26-year-old Mukund conceded the battle on his debut, soon after taking a medical timeout at 1-2 of the third set.

Cramping badly and grimacing in pain, he retired when the score was 7-6 (4) 5-7 1-4.

The huge difference in the rankings notwithstanding — Mukund is 192 places above Dlimi at 365 — it was far from an easy outing for the Indian.

Placed 156 on the ATP singles chart, Nagal then expectedly brought the home team back on level terms with a comfortable 6-3 6-3 win over Adam Moundir, ranked 779.

While it was a dull and long contest in the opening singles, Nagal and Moundir played some gripping tennis.

Both the players hit the ball hard. Nagal, who is in good form and is enjoying a good run in the Challenger circuit, controlled the points well and made less unforced errors compared to his rival.

Moundir showed the stomach for a fight but did not put enough balls inside the lines. Clearly, Nagal’s experience was a huge plus.

After breaking Moundir in the fifth game, Nagal dropped his serve immediately but found a way to break the Moroccan twice to run away with the opening set.

Moundir, though, used the drop shot quite effectively, especially when he lost points at the start of the games.

Nagal’s court coverage and solid defence in long drawn points was the highlight of his win.

“It is disappointing we lost the first match. Sasi consumed a lot of nervous energy. I told him to calm down. Unfortunately he started cramping. Sumit on the other hand is experienced and the difference of class was there,” said skipper

Rohit Rajpal.

Rohan Bopanna will play the last match of his Davis Cup career on Sunday with Yuki Bhambri. They will take on Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami Laaroussi.

The 20-year-old Dlimi came into the tie after a good run on the ITF Futures circuit, having reached three finals and two semifinals in his last five outings.

He carried the confidence into the match but struggled to contain his unforced errors, giving many free points to Mukund.

Mukund, on the other side, had lost four consecutive first round contests but he was competing at high-level tournaments, included an ATP1000 event. The level of tennis was already not great in the match and the slowness of the court made it more physical.