The All India Tennis Association (AITA) selection panel picked a five-member squad in which Mukund will be the highest-ranked singles player at number 368.
Novak Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park including the last three, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with Australian Open organisers Tennis Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete in Melbourne.
The sight of immaculately-dressed line judges standing or crouching at the side and back of the grass courts has been a feature at the Grand Slam for 147 years.
Djokovic saved three breakpoints in stifling conditions to go 5-4 up but lost the opening set in a tough tiebreak as Opelka cranked up his serve
Defending champion Jannik Sinner dismissed eighth seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals and extend the country's decades-long wait for another homegrown singles winner at the Grand Slam on Wednesday.
Former Indian tennis captain Anand Amritraj has criticized top players Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri for not playing in the Davis Cup, stating that money should not be a factor when representing the country.
Sasikumar Mukund, who was banned by AITA on disciplinary grounds, is back as India's best-ranked player for the World Group I Play-off tie against Togo, starting on Saturday.
Up against higher-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic (No. 53) of Serbia in the first round, the world No. 72, who has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, lost 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
Novak Djokovic secured a semi-final place at the ATP Finals with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, his 50th match win of the year, while Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew from the tournament due to an elbow injury.
'It's one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really.'
Earlier this month, the ATP also announced a two-year partnership with online learning platform Coursera which will allow players to access over 4,000 courses for free.
Italy's Sinner and Spain's Alcaraz have won two Grand Slams each this year, with Alcaraz beating Sinner in closely fought clashes at the French Open semi-finals and the China Open final.
Alcaraz returns to action at this week's Cincinnati Open, where he can gain ground on the Serb and Italian Jannik Sinner.
Dhakshineswar, who is in US College circuit, could not qualify for the singles main draw, falling in the second round of the qualifying event 3-6, 4-6 to American fourth seed Learner Tien.
Third seed Alexander Zverev produced a near-flawless display to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(4) on Saturday and return to the Paris Masters final after a gap of four years.
The unanswerable question, of course, is whether Djokovic is the GOAT. That's a complex issue over which fans will forever bicker, observes Kanika Datta.
Debutant Stefanos Tsitsipas crushed defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday to book his place in the last four of the ATP Finals with a match to spare.
Defending champions Italy moved into the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 win over Australia on Saturday as Jannik Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets to follow up Matteo Berrettini's victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis.
India has never beaten Sweden in five attempts in the Davis Cup.
Carlos Alcaraz won two matches to lift Team Europe to a 13-11 victory over Team World for the Laver Cup title in Berlin.
World number one Rafael Nadal has been drawn alongside defending champion Alexander Zverev, Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) reported.
Third seed Alexander Zverev eased past home favourite Ugo Humbert
Bhambri, Nedunchezhiyan-Prashanth reach ATP 250 doubles finals in China
Djokovic helped Serbia to a 3-0 victory over Japan in their Group A opener on Wednesday at La Caja Magica where a revamped Davis Cup climax is being contested by 18 nations over seven days.
Tallon Griekspoor prevailed in a high-voltage three-set final against Benjamin Bonzi to win his maiden ATP World Tour title.
Sumit Nagal won the Heilbronner Neckarcup ATP Challenger event beating Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland
Former world number one Andy Murray is in line to play Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round of the inaugural ATP Cup, with Bulgaria qualifying among the final six teams in the nation-based tournament.
The American duo won 5-7, 6-1, 13-11 as they added the season-ending crown to the Wimbledon and US Open titles.
He will surpass Roger Federer's record as the oldest No. 1 in ATP Rankings history on Sunday when he will be 36 years and 321 days old.
Rohan Bopanna and Sumit Nagal have secured their Paris Olympics 2024 quotas for India
Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden sailed into the men's doubles final at the Miami Open.
Frances Tiafoe launched into a foul-mouthed tirade directed at a chair umpire after the American received a time violation and then lost to Roman Safiullin in the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.
Medvedev became only the fourth player in ATP history to beat the world's top three at the same tournament.
Jannik Sinner spearheaded Italy's charge towards a second successive Davis Cup title with a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final at the southern Spanish city of Malaga on Sunday.
However, the 33-year-old Spaniard will not know until later on Friday whether his Herculean effort was in vain.
Australia booked their place in the Davis Cup semi-finals as doubles pair Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson clinched the deciding rubber against the United States on Thursday.
World number two Nadal's fate will rest on his final group match against Tsitsipas.
Melbourne on Friday completed 28 days since the last reported locally-acquired case of novel coronavirus infection.
ATP events in Hamburg, Bastad, Newport, Los Cabos, Gstaad, Umag, Atlanta and Kitzbuhel will not go ahead as scheduled.
Rafael Nadal's hopes of winning the year-ending ATP Finals for the first time live on after the Spaniard beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Thursday.
