Dhakshineswar Suresh scripts Davis Cup heroics as India stun Netherlands 3-2 | Tennis Information – The Occasions of India – Imperial Wire

Bengaluru: India’s Dhakshineswar Suresh (PTI Picture/Shailendra Bhojak)

Dhakshineswar Suresh introduced himself as India’s latest Davis Cup match-winner on Sunday, sealing a stirring 3-2 victory over the Netherlands by clinching the decisive fifth rubber and guiding the hosts into Qualifiers Spherical 2. In simply his second Davis Cup look, the 25-year-old delivered a efficiency that shall be remembered for years. Dhakshineswar gained each his singles matches and partnered Yuki Bhambri to victory within the doubles, finishing a uncommon three-win haul in a single tie for India. The feat inevitably drew comparisons with Leander Paes’ legendary heroics towards Japan in 2004, when Paes single-handedly gained two singles and the doubles to hold India by way of. Greater than 20 years later, Dhakshineswar produced a equally defining second. Ranked as little as 465, he held his nerve beneath immense strain within the ultimate rubber towards Man de Ouden, successful 6-4, 7-6 (4). As his ultimate forehand winner landed in, Dhakshineswar collapsed onto his again earlier than being engulfed by teammates and lifted onto their shoulders, the celebrations marking one other memorable European scalp for India. India had begun the tie as underdogs however discovered a gap when the Netherlands arrived with out their prime two singles gamers, world quantity 29 Tallon Griekspoor and world quantity 67 Botic van de Zandschulp. The absence gave India, ranked 33 within the Davis Cup standings, a real alternative they usually seized it, defeating the world quantity six group. The win additionally carried historic significance. It marked the primary time India have reached the second spherical of the Qualifiers because the revamped Davis Cup format was launched in 2019, shifting them a step nearer to the elite eight-team Finals. Korea are anticipated to be their subsequent opponents. The tie was delicately poised at 1-1 in the beginning of Sunday’s play. Dhakshineswar and Bhambri then edged a gripping doubles contest, outlasting David Pel and Sander Arends 7-6 (0), 3-6, 7-6 (1) to offer India a 2-1 lead. The match lasted practically three hours and swung repeatedly earlier than the house pair held their nerve in each tie-breaks. Sumit Nagal had an opportunity to shut out the tie within the first reverse singles however couldn’t capitalise. After taking the opening set, he went down 7-5, 1-6, 4-6 to world quantity 88 Jesper de Jong in a bodily draining contest that stretched shut to a few hours. It was Nagal’s second lack of the tie, having additionally fallen within the opening singles. That left the accountability squarely on Dhakshineswar, whom captain Rohit Rajpal had described as his “trump card”. Regardless of having already spent shut to a few hours on courtroom earlier within the day within the doubles, Dhakshineswar confirmed no indicators of fatigue as he walked out for the deciding rubber. His serve as soon as once more proved decisive. Dhakshineswar struck 15 aces and persistently dictated play behind his supply. He earned the essential break within the opening set within the seventh recreation when De Ouden dedicated back-to-back backhand errors. Though Dhakshineswar missed a set level within the ninth recreation, he regrouped instantly and sealed the set with an ace on his second likelihood. The second set was tighter. De Ouden fought onerous to remain alive, saving a break level within the fifth recreation with a operating forehand winner. Dhakshineswar broke once more at 4-4 however then confronted strain whereas serving out the match, solely to carry agency and pressure a tie-break. There, his composure and energy stood out as he pulled away to shut out the competition and full a memorable win for the hosts. Earlier within the day, the doubles match had set the tone for India’s success. Rajpal’s daring determination to area Dhakshineswar instead of N Sriram Balaji for the high-stakes rubber proved impressed. The opening set was a take a look at of persistence. Bhambri’s serve got here beneath sustained strain, significantly in an extended seventh recreation that featured a number of break factors. Regardless of double faults and missed possibilities, the Indian pair survived, aided by Dhakshineswar’s sharp work on the internet. Neither facet might pressure a breakthrough, and the set went to a tie-break. There, the Indians all of a sudden surged forward, racing to a 4-0 lead and shutting it out with out conceding some extent, highlighted by a sharply angled passing winner from Dhakshineswar and a clear return winner from Bhambri. Momentum shifted within the second set because the Netherlands tightened up. Bhambri’s first-serve struggles returned, and the guests secured a vital break to stage the match. The deciding set turned a battle of endurance. India created a number of early alternatives, together with a 0-40 opening on Pel’s serve, however didn’t convert. Dhakshineswar then saved a break level within the subsequent recreation, maintaining India alive. Extra possibilities got here and went earlier than a turning level arrived when Arends took a medical timeout to obtain therapy on his left hand. From that second, his serve dipped, and the Indians lastly seized management, closing out the match within the tie-break to place India inside one win of victory. Dhakshineswar ensured there was no delay after that, delivering beneath strain to script one in all India’s most memorable Davis Cup wins lately.