“Otherwise four years from now, it would again be a tussle for who is playing the Olympics and come back without anything”, he said while sitting alongside Saketh Myneni post their four set marathon loss against Rafa Nadal and Marc Lopez which gave Spain an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Davis Cup World Group Playoff.
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Fourteen-time Grand Slam victor Spain’s Rafael Nadal was on a mission to India – to help his team re-enter the Davis Cup World Group – and it was accomplished on Saturday night. Watching the southpaw even in doubles is very special.
With momentum now with Indians, they broke the 14-time Grand Slam champion on the second break-point with Paes producing a crisp backhand volley victor.
“He is very receptive to something you tell him.for four sets, we knew what shot we wanted to play, we wanted to come back against them”. “That’s what we have managed to do”.
Led by talented but tempestuous 21-year-old Nick Kyrgios, the 28-times champions have a player to build a team around and captain Lleyton Hewitt said he expected big things in 2017.
“In Davis Cup unusual things do happen and this is a situation where we have nothing to lose”, stated Paes here Thursday during a short interaction with the reporters.
“He played a great match”.
Tennis star Rafael Nadal pulled out of Spain’s opening Davis Cup tie against India on Friday after being laid low by an upset stomach.
Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez clinched Spain’s berth in the 2017 World Group with a win over India. They had lost to Germany in the first round of the World Group in 2014.
“It was a tough match”, Nadal acknowledged. The home pair seemed to have established a firm grip on the rubber when they got ahead, crafting a few moments of magic to break Lopez’s serve in the third game of the second set. “It was important for us to win doubles because in the history of Spanish team it has been hard to win doubles”.
“Playing with players of such stature and like Feli has got a great serve and Rafa has an overall game and the key to success for us is the trust and friendship”, the 34-year-old Marc said with the help of a translator. Feli (Lopez) played solid, lots of first serves in..
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.
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Though Ramkumar showed sparkling glimpses of superiority during his own serve, he was unable to break through Lopez’s serve which eventually cost him the match. India though lost the edge with Myneni dropping serve in the seventh game, the longest of the match as he served two double faults. Had it not been for his breathing problem, Nagal was well on course for a memorable win, albeit against a player who is used to covering only the half-court in the recent years.
