Sumit Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh failed to convert strong starts into victories as South Korea took a 0-2 lead on the opening day of the Davis Cup Qualifier tie in Seoul.
India's hopes of advancing to the Davis Cup Final 8 were pushed to the brink on Friday after Dhakshineswar Suresh and Sumit Nagal squandered opening-set leads, leaving the visitors trailing 0-2 against South Korea at the end of day one in Seoul.
Making his Davis Cup debut, Dhakshineswar lost the opening tie 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to South Korea's top player, Soonwoo Kwon, who extended his unbeaten home singles record in the tournament. Dhakshineswar took the opening set with an ace, but Kwon shifted his tactics to target the Indian's backhand and use deep returns to take control of the remaining two sets.
India's top-ranked player, Sumit Nagal, could not restore parity, falling 6-2, 4-6, 5-7 to the experienced Hyeon Chung in a grueling battle that lasted over three hours. Nagal rushed to a 4-0 lead early in the first set with aggressive forehands before closing it out 6-2. However, Chung adjusted his game with effective drop shots and net approaches, fighting through a marathon seven-deuce seventh game in the second set before breaking Nagal to level the match.
Nagal fought back from an early 1-3 deficit in the deciding set to level it at 5-5, but Chung raised his level at crucial moments to secure the victory as the Indian faded late.
To advance to the knockout stage, India must now win all three remaining matches on the final day—a comeback achieved only twice in Indian Davis Cup history, against Brazil in 2010 and China in 2018. N Sriram Balaji and Niki Poonacha carry the responsibility to keep the tie alive in the upcoming must-win doubles rubber.
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.