India progressed to the Davis Cup Qualifiers for the first time ever after Sumit Nagal tamed aggressive teenager Henry Bernet in the first reverse singles to script the team's 3-1 win over Switzerland.
Nagal's ranking nosedives to 233, still-strong Bopanna out of top-50 for first time in 15 years
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, July 28, 2024:
Davis Cup: Bold move by India, captain Rajpal fields Dhakshineswar against Switzerland
Sania Mirza and her Kazakh partner Anna Danilina, seeded eighth, lost to Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in a clash lasting little over two hours.
The 44-year-old Bopanna had also lost in the men's doubles in the third round when he and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden were beaten by the Argentine duo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
India's Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti prevailed over a quality pair to move to the men's doubles second round but Olympics-bound N Sriram Balaji made an exit from the Wimbledon Championships along with Luke Johnson, in London, on Thursday.
The young Indian pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Sriram Balaji went down fighting to the second seeded American pair of Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram in the doubles event of the Aircel Chennai Open 2012 on Tuesday night. Nedunchezhiyan and Balaji, aged 23 and 21 respectively, displayed admirable spunk in their 5-7, 4-6 defeat, even breaking their opponents at least twice in the match.
Third seed N Sriram Balaji overcame early jitters to quell a spirited challenge from compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan in his opening match at the CCI-ITF men's US $15,000 tournament 2012, at the CCI courts, in Mumbai, on Monday. The Chennai-based lad won 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 50 minutes.
Sasikumar Mukund will aim for a winning return to the Davis Cup fold as India faces Togo in the World Group I Play-off.
Sumit Nagal on Monday dropped out of the much-desired bracket following a string of poor show
But the big question that keeps striking the mind is, if Indian tennis system can actually claim this win as its own. The answer is: partially.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were beaten by the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles semi-finals.
Rohan Bopanna and debutant N Sriram Balaji were clinical in routing their rivals as India sealed the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie against Uzbekistan by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, in Bengaluru, on Saturday.
India's Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway secured a hard-fought victory but Rithvik Bollipalli's search for his maiden win in a Grand Slam main draw continued in the French Open men's doubles opening round, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Ramkumar Ramanathan and N Sriram Balaji could play well only in patches to lose the do-or-die doubles against Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi.
Dhakshineswar shines on debut, Nagal makes winning return; India take 2-0 lead against Switzerland
India had mixed fortunes in the men's doubles at the US Open on Friday.
Since new Davis Cup reforms have been introduced, India will not have to go back to the Asia/Oceania Group immediately.
The duo lost their second round men's doubles match to Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia at the Australian Open.
India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday defended the selection of N Sriram Balaji ahead of higher-ranked Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja for the tie against Serbia.
Sumit Nagal was beaten in straight sets by World No 25 Tomas Machac in the first round of the men's singles on Sunday.
The Paris Games will be his second stint in the Olympics, having also qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Games, where he made it to the second round.
The freezing cold made the conditions challenging for the players.
India's first and only tennis medal in the history of Olympic Games came way back in 1996, when Leander Paes claimed the singles bronze in Atlanta.
India blunted Pakistan's challenge on the opening day to take a 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup World Group I play-off tie with Ramkumar Ramanathan and N Sriram Balaji rising to the occasion in the high-pressure contest, in Islamabad on Saturday.
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.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden erased a one-set deficit to edge past the fighting pair of N Sriram Balaji and MA Reyes-Varela Martinez in the Super Tie-breaker, moving to the French Open quarterfinals, in Paris on Monday.
Rohan Bopanna and Shuai Zhang suffered a narrow defeat against local wild cards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki in a thrilling contest at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna and his partner Australia's Matthew Ebden were beaten by Argentine combo of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.
Playing non-stop tennis, Nagal secured his ninth win on the trot since the start of the Heilbronn Challenger in Germany that he had won earlier this month.
Rohan Bopanna teamed up with Belgium's Sander Gille to enter the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 Boss Open in Stuttgart
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, July 27, 2024:
Sumit Nagal staged a grand recovery to get the better of Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 and book his place in the quarter-finals of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger in Chennai on Thursday.
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.
Sasikumar Mukund returned to Davis Cup action with a fluent straight-sets victory over lower-ranked Liova Ayite Ajavon, putting India ahead 1-0 in the World Group I play-off tie against Togo, in New Delhi, Saturday.
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 were on Thursday drawn to meet Sweden in an away Davis Cup World Group I tie in September.
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.
Sumit Nagal crashed out of the US Open after suffering a straight-set defeat against Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor in the first round. The 27-year-old Indian tennis ace, competing in his fourth Grand Slam this year, was beaten 1-6, 3-6, 6-7(6-8) late in the day at Flushing Meadows, New York.
