India and Canada locked 1-1
edmonton — Ramkumar Ramanathan fetched the crucial win but Yuki Bhambri made the day memorable even in defeat as India and Canada shared the honours on day one of the Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie.
Yuki turned the match on its head after being down by two sets and a match point in the third set but eventually lost 6-7(2) 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 1-6 to world No.51 Denis Shapovalov — an audacious performance in a three hours and 52 minutes battle.
It happened after 22-year-old Ramkumar, ranked 154th, tamed the debutant 5-7 7-6(4) 7-5 7-5 in the first singles, which was also a marathon match lasting three hours and 16 minutes.
“Boys played with a lot of heart...the plan was to fight regardless of the score and Ram swung a losing battle and Yuki almost did too,” Indian captain Mahesh Bhupathi said.