Biel, Switzerland — The Indian Davis Cup team’s aspirations for a big triumph over Switzerland were put on hold on Saturday when N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli lost in a close three-set encounter. India is still ahead in the tie, 2-1, after losing to Swiss pair Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker. This sets up an exciting climax with two reverse singles matches to come.
India was in charge with a 2-0 lead going into Saturday. Dhakshineshwar Suresh and Sumit Nagal both won their individual matches on Friday. Suresh beat Jerome Kym in straight sets, which was a big surprise. Nagal, on the other hand, had to fight hard to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler.
The doubles rubber was a tough match that lasted two hours and 26 minutes. In the opening set, both teams held on to their serves well. The Swiss duo of Paul and Stricker showed off their strong serves and rapid volleys. But the Indian side was able to get a critical break in the sixth game, which gave them a 4-2 advantage. The Swiss team came back and tied the set, but the Indian pair won the tie-breaker 7-3.
In the second set, the momentum changed, and both sides fought hard again. The Swiss team took the set 6-4 after Bollipalli broke serve, tying the match. The third set, which was the most important, was just as stressful, but the Swiss team was more consistent. Even though India got an early break, the Swiss team came back and got a key break on Balaji’s serve to square the score at 3-3. Bollipalli made a mistake when serving to stay in the match at 5-6, and the Swiss team won the set 7-5 on their third match point.
India hasn’t won an away tie against a European team since 1993, therefore they need either Sumit Nagal or Dhakshineshwar Suresh to win the reverse singles in order to move on to the Davis Cup Qualifiers. Nagal will now play Kym, and if that doesn’t settle the tie, Suresh will play Huesler.