Spanish Tennis star Rafael Nadal on Friday pulled out of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off against India due to stomach upset.
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Two years after Spain’s stunning fall from grace in Davis Cup tennis, Rafa Nadal has hailed his nation’s return to the World Group after victory in the playoff against India. Both teams have spent time getting used to the conditions and it would be wrong to assume that the players from sunny Spain will be at the receiving end of the weather. They will face an Indian combination comprising of the veteran Leander Paes and Myneni.
The visitors lost first point on their serve in the sixth when Myneni hit a service return forehand victor off Nadal. “Many thanks to all the fans”, said Nadal, who conceded that India was “very close” to his heart as he had a part of his Foundation in Anantapur. After going 2 sets down, Ramkumar showed exceptional courage and upped his game to register a commanding 6-3 win in the third set.
Feliciano opined that although Paes will be playing alongside a relatively inexperienced partner in Myneni, the Olympic bronze medallist is still a risky customer due to his vast experience. He is tied on 42 wins with Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli, who also holds the record for most singles wins (78) in Davis Cup.
“So, it was great to compete against him (Leander), it was a tough match”. Paes saved two break chances in the fifth to help hosts take a handsome 4-1 lead. Nadal delivered a double-fault on breakpoint, which only showed the intensity of the contest.
He managed to get back up and held his serve and then broke Lopez again to go 3-0 up.
Sensing that the Indian lad was hurting, Lopez came storming back from 0-2 down with successive breaks in the fourth, sixth and eighth games to take a 5-3 lead and serve the rubber out.
“Nadal had said that before the US Open that his performance at the final Grand Slam of the year would determine whether he would come or not. Feli (Feliciano Lopez) was in flawless condition to go to court so he played”, said Nadal.
In his post match press conference, Lopez told the media that they had known all week that he might play instead of Rafa as he had been struggling with his wrist, which had also forced him to withdraw from the French Open earlier this year. “But at the same time the match is still long, we fought a lot and put a lot of balls in and we knew if we could increase the level we can win”. He is one of the best players of all time.
Ramkumar lost a few points on his serve at the start of the match but a few unforced errors meant he was facing two breakpoints.
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Paes dropped serve in the third game to give visitors advantage in the third set.
