Downs Uzbek Isamilov in four-set thriller
Jamie Murray criticises French Open doubles prize money cut, hotel conditions.
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.
The Indian team had been relegated to the World Group II after losing 2-3 to Denmark in the World Group Play-Off earlier this year.
Bora Gojo and Marin Cilic gave Croatia a 2-0 lead over India, winning the opening singles, in their Davis Cup qualifier in Zagreb on Friday. Gojo, ranked 277th, put the hosts ahead with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over world No. 132 Prajnesh Gunneswaran while world No. 37 Cilic was taken to two tie-breakers before prevailing over 182-ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6(8), 7-6(8).
India's top singles player Sumit Nagal on Friday returned to the Davis Cup team for the World Group I tie against Sweden but Yuki Bhambri has opted out of the September 14-15 contest,
India's top singles players, led by Somdev Devvarman, easily advanced to the second round of ATP Pune Challenger on Tuesday, but rising star Ramkumar Ramanathan made a shock first-round exit. Third seed Somdev proved too good for local wild card Arjun Kadhe, scoring a 6-1, 6-3 victory in 60 minutes. Seventh seed Yuki Bhambri disposed of the challenge of Chinese Taipei's Liang-Chi Huang 6-3, 6-0.
The Indian Davis Cup squad will travel to Pakistan for the first time since 1964. India defeated Pakistan 4-0 in their most recent neutral site match in 2019.
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.
Indo-Dutch pair had no trouble in dispatching the lower-ranked home combo 6-4, 6-1 in the opening round.
India's best player Yuki Bhambri is back in the squad and that changes the dynamics for the three-day rubber.
Appearing in her third grand slam qualifiers, Ankita (ranked 205) got the better of Frenchwoman Myrtille Georges 6-2, 6-2 in her opening round.
On Thursday, Bhambri will look to secure a berth in the singles quarter-finals as takes on eight-seed Stefano Travaglia in a second-round match.
Ramkumar Ramanathan recorded the second-biggest win of his career by shocking world number 98 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the opening round of the ATP Chennai Open but there was no end to Somdev Devvarman's struggle as he was knocked out of the singles event, in Chennai on Tuesday.
AITA usually names five-member squad apart from one or two reserve players.
Ankita, ranked 182, had only one break point in the match, which she failed to convert.
India's captain Anand Amritraj said it was "initiation by fire" for both Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan as they pulled off victories in the opening singles of the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against South Korea, under testing conditions, in Chandigarh on Friday.
However, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Ankita Raina's campaign ended in the first round itself.
Sumit Nagal, who recently became the first Indian to beat a seeded player in a Grand Slam tournament, will spearhead the Indian challenge in the men's singles competition of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger 100 tournament beginning on Sunday.
The unseeded Indo-Croat pairing had received a walkover in the pre-quarters on Sunday against Netherlands' Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador.
The All India Tennis Association's selection committee retained all four playing members of the squad that beat Korea Korea 4-1 last month, for the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against Spain, scheduled for September 16-18.
Ramkumar, Poonacha and Saketh Myneni had a light session that lasted two and a half hours.
India's top-ranked singles player Ramkumar Ramanathan, of late, has developed a decent serve and volley game and comeback-man Yuki Bhambri is also comfortable playing on grass courts.
India needs people like Rahul Dravid and Pullela Gopichand, who have done an excellent job in producing young talent in their respective disciplines, for tennis to develop in the country, says eight-time Grand Slam doubles champion Leander Paes.
The Indian Davis Cup team was staring at defeat at the zonal level for the first time in five years following shock defeats of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal on the opening day of the second round tie against China, in Tianjin, on Friday.
Ramkumar became the first Indian in seven years to advance to the singles final of an ATP World Tour event but missed out on ending India's 20-year title drought when he lost the Hall of Fame final to Steven Johnson on Sunday night.
Top singles player Yuki Bhambri on Monday returned to the Indian Davis Cup team along with Saketh Myneni even as veteran Leander Paes was expectedly dropped from the squad for the tie against Canada next month.
India's Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza notched up contrasting wins along with their respective partners in the men's and women's doubles competitions at the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Saketh Myneni-led Baseline Bombers and Sriram Balaji-inspired Accurate Aces scored contrasting wins on the opening day of the 3rd edition of the Amanora Premier Tennis League at the Deccan Gymkhana courts, in Pune on Friday.
Ankita Raina's maiden appearance in Wimbledon's main draw ended in disappointment as the Indian and her American partner Lauren Davis lost in straight sets to the US pair of Asia Muhammad and Jessica Pegula.
India's singles challenge at the US Open qualifiers came to an end as Yuki Bhambri was handed a straight-set defeat by Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the second round in New York.
Yuki Bhambri crushed Argentina's Renzo Olivo in straight sets to move into the final round of the ATP Miami Masters qualifiers but Ramkumar Ramanathan was ousted in the opening round.
Wrapping up the first set in less than 25 minutes, the pair led 4-1 in the second when they were made to work a bit as Galfi and Pera won four games on the trot to make it five-all.
Davis Cup: Strong Indian team is firm favourite against Pakistan in historic clash
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) on Tuesday suggested that the country's top player Sumit Nagal perhaps deliberately missed the Davis Cup tie against Sweden last week
Ramkumar played with a lot of passion against the 2014 US Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon finalist before bowing out with a 4-6, 3-6 second round defeat.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
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