India stay in World Group I after saving three match points
NEW DELHI: Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved three match points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to prevail against a fighting Danish pair of Frederik Nielsen and Mikael Torpegaard as India kept its place in the Davis Cup World Group I by winning the Play-off tie 4-0, here on Saturday. Sharan, playing his first Davis Cup tie since February 2019, and Bopanna came from behind to win 6-7 (4) 6-4 7-6 (4) in one hour and 58 minutes.
Yuki Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan had given India a 2-0 lead on the opening day of the tie on Friday.
The tense win ensured that India will stay in World Group I for the 2022 season, while Denmark will now again go back to World Group II. Serving to stay in the match in the 12th game of the decider, Sharan faced three match points but the Indian team held nerves to save all, two of them on second serves, to force a final tie-breaker, in which they raced to a 4-1 lead and sealed the win when Torpegaard could not make a return on Bopanna’s serve.
It was such a close match that only one break of serve featured when 2012 Wimbledon Champion Nielsen got broken at the beginning of the second set. Later in the first reverse singles,*
Ramkumar beat Joahhnes Ingildsen 5-7 7-5 10-7. The fifth match was not played.
Ingildsen was supposed to play the doubles but considering that Torpegaard served extremely well against Yuki on Friday, he was paired with his captain. This is India’s first win since they beat Pakistan 4-0 in November 2019 when Rohit Rajpal took over as non-playing captain. After that India lost to Finland (1-3) and Croatia (1-3) in away ties.
Bopanna’s big serve was at work since the beginning as he started off with three consecutive aces for an easy hold. Torpeggard and Nielsen too were sharp and solid even as Sharan’s serve was put under pressure.
In both the third and seventh games that Sharan served, he was down 15-30 but somehow managed to hold. Nielsen’s smooth-actioned serves and precise placings combined with Torpegaard’s firepower made it a tough contest for the home pair.
Nielsen did not lose a single point on his serve in the entire opening set and that made a huge difference. There was no break of serve in the opening set and a tie-breaker was required. Bopanna lost the first point on his serve and the Danish team opened up a huge 5-1 lead from where Torpegaard found a volley winner on Sharan’s return to earn five set points.