Davis Cup | Nagal meets den Ouden in opening rubber; Dhakshineswar plays de Jong

The last two times the lush green Cubbon Park welcomed the Davis Cup, the draw ceremony was held at the majestic Vidhana Soudha, the iconic seat of the Karnataka State Legislature.

On Friday, when the draw for India’s Qualifiers 1st Round fixture against Netherlands was conducted, it was at a modest, but neat, make-shift structure within the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium complex.

It was perhaps the apt build-up for Saturday’s action. The Dutch are not known to be great admirers of flamboyance, for their society swears by the mantra Doe Normaal (just be normal). India too is stepping into the contest gingerly, waiting with bated breath to see how its frontline singles player Sumit Nagal holds up after three weeks of injury rehab.

At stake is a place in September’s Qualifers 2nd Round, the last stage before the season-ending, eight-team Davis Cup Finals. On paper, the visitors are better, even without World No. 29 Tallon Griekspoor and No. 67 Botic van de Zandschulp, both of whom are busy at the ATP Rotterdam 500.

Netherlands, Davis Cup runner-up in 2024, is sixth in the world while India is 33rd. The top-two Dutch singles players, Jesper de Jong and Guy den Ouden, are ranked 88 and 162 respectively, compared to Nagal’s 281 and Dhakshineswar Suresh’s 465.

But the charm of the Davis Cup is that pedigree and status have limited currency. India’s own 3-1 win against Switzerland last year is evidence, as the lanky Dhakshineswar beat a player ranked more than 280 places above him.

Also, Nagal was a career-high 68 in mid-2024 and has a good understanding of the Garden City’s fast, high-altitude conditions.

Interestingly, the 28-year-old has never played the opening match in any of his eight Cup appearances. A win against Den Ouden in the first rubber on Saturday can set up the tie for India.

For Sunday’s doubles, captain Rohit Rajpal, citing better preparedness, has chosen Sriram Balaji instead of Rithvik Bollipalli to partner World No. 20 Yuki Bhambri.

But India has lost the doubles point in all three of its recent outings against European opposition – to Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark. A snapping of the streak will be timely.