Spain are set to tour India from the 16 to the 18 of September, and the team have now officially announced that Rafael Nadal will be part of the squad that tours New Delhi next week. Marc Lopez and Nadal together won gold at in the men’s doubles at Rio 2016, while Feliciano Lopez is a four-time Davis Cup victor.
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Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez will make up their doubles duo for the tie, which will be played under lights for the first time in India.
World number five Nadal, who was knocked out of the US Open after losing in the fourth round, had made his last appearance for Spain in the 5-0 relegation playoff win away to Denmark in September a year ago.
“The return to the team of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer is the big news of the Spanish team which will travel to India for the play-off”, the Spanish tennis federation said on Tuesday (6).
Nadal added the Olympic doubles gold to his 2008 singles crown last month after being forced out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon because of a wrist injury.
Five-time Davis Cup champions Spain will take on three-time runners-up India for the third time in the competition, but for the first time since 1965.
India’s highest-ranked singles player Saketh Myneni is placed 143 in the ATP chart and Ramkumar Ramanathan is ranked 202. “I think that I will be back”.
“That is a fully loaded Spain team and it will be a battle for us”. Veterans Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna will shoulder the responsibility of doubles on the slow hard court in the tie, which would be played under floodlights.
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India beat Korea 4-1 in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie to reach the Play-of stage while Spain beat Romania with identical margin in the Europe/Africa Group I contest.
