Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 9 : Buoyed by Dhakshineswar Suresh's 6-4, 7-6 (4), victory over Guy Den Ouden, India secured an emphatic 3-2 victory over the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Qualifier Round 1 at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru. India's victory paves the way to September's Qualifiers 2nd Round, where they will compete to make it to the eight-team Davis Cup Finals, according to a release.
In the decisive fifth rubber, Suresh fired 15 aces in a composed performance under pressure. He broke Ouden in the seventh game to clinch the opening set. A thrilling second set saw them hold serve till 6-6 before Suresh secured the victory in the tie-break to seal the tie for India.
Heading into the day with the teams locked at 1-1, Dhakshineswar Suresh and Yuki Bhambri defeated David Pel and Sander Arends, 7-6(0), 3-6, 7-6(1) in the first fixture to give India a 2-1 lead, before Jesper de Jong came from behind to defeat Sumit Nagal, 5-7,6-1, 6-4 and make it 2-2.
Captain Rohit Rajpal had high praise for Sumit Nagal, underlining the Indian's leadership and effort despite not being at his best. "It's been a difficult 10 days with our number one player, suffering from an injury. This is not even 50 per cent of the Sumit Nagal, because if Sumit Nagal was firing both ways, this would have been a different story, I can say that with confidence now. But again, my compliments to him, he fought like a tiger, he came there, he led the team like a tiger, like the India number one should."
Speaking on Dhakshineswar Suresh, who featured in three victories for India in the tie, captain Rohit Rajpal said, "He is my trump card that I keep pulling out every time and it works every time."
Shedding light on his mindset, Suresh said, "Definitely, I have to put my height to use, being 6'6 and being the only Indian who's tall, I must work on my strengths and make the most of it."
"I go out every day and try to get a basket of serves. It's always about consistency. When I get into crucial moments in the match, I tell myself I have done this a million times, so it's just another ball which I'm going to hit."
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor