Reigning French Open doubles victor Feliciano Lopez will instead play the first men’s singles clash against rookie Ramanathan, which will take place at Delhi’s RK Khanna Stadium on Friday.
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The fourteen-time Grand Slam victor Spain’s Rafael Nadal was on a mission to India – to help his team to enter the Davis Cup world group – and it was accomplished on Saturday night. He is one of the best players of all time. The first set saw only one break of serve – Nagal’s in the second game.
“We knew during the week that there might be a possibility that I’m going to play instead of Rafa, who was not sure if he was going to be ready for Friday”, said Feliciano.
Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni started off in fantastic fashion by winning the first set.
Paes and Myneni came up short in the crucial moments as Nadal and Lopez showcased their class to fight back from adverse positions a few times during the match. Nagal’s 3-6 6-1 3-6 loss to Lopez helped visitors increase their lead to 4-0.
The Indian doubles combination, traditionally the strong point of the hosts, has been weakened by the withdrawal of Rohan Bopanna due to injury.
Fifth-ranked Nadal said the 31-year-old from Switzerland was capable of matching any of the top players on the world circuit after taking the title on Sunday in NY. With Nadal giving away little, the Indians targeted the serve of Lopez and it paid off instantly.
Paes was gunning to be the most successful player in Davis cup history.
Nadal disappointed the jampacked crowd at the R.K. Khana Tennis Stadium on Friday as he pulled out of the opening singles against Ramanathan with a wrist injury.
The Indian team was up by a set and a break but the Spaniards worked their way back aided by some game-changing errors by Myneni.
Lopez did not have to exert much to put ahead his side, which desperately wants to reclaim its place in the World Group after their relegation in January 2014. Ramkumar served out the set in the next.
There was debate about the evening timing of the tie with the Indian team itself divided over the subject but that would hardly be a factor given that the Spaniards are known marathoners. He saved the first but double-faulted on the second. When he was back on his feet, he found that his service game extended long and he had to fight off as many as six break points before he held serve for a 2-0 lead.
It’s still 5-1 in the set, but these handful of points seem to energize Myneni into fighting hard through the next game.
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Ramkumar could never pose a danger to his superior rival, who soon pocketed the second set too.
