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Sasikumar Mukund will start Indias challenge in the Davis Cup World Group II tie against Morocco when he takes on World No. 557 Yassine Dlimi in the opener at the Vijayant Khand Mini Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday.
Sumit Nagal will face Adam Moundir in the second singles on Day One. The Indian team also includes Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri. Rohit Rajpal is the captain. The draw ceremony was conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his official residence on Friday. He also conveyed his good wishes to the players. The draw ceremony was also attended by All India Tennis Association (AITA) President Anil Jain, Secretary General Anil Dhupar, other officials, captains and players from both teams. Jain said the infrastructure provided by the Uttar Pradesh government and Uttar Pradesh Tennis Association "is marvellous". On Sunday, Bopanna will team up with Bhambri to take on Moroccos doubles pair of Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami Laaroussi whereas Nagal and Mukund will play Dlimi and Moundir respectively in the reverse singles on the final day. There is a lot of excitement around rubber where Bopanna, who recently finished runner-up at the US Open mens doubles final, will be playing his final Davis Cup match. The draw seems fine. Normally, every captain prefers his No. 1 player comes on court first to give the country an advantage. My first preference was Sumit to play first. Its going to be challenging in terms of the weather. The idea is to keep the players hydrated and feed them with a lot of electrolytes. No team is easy, no player is easy in todays time. Both our players need to rise to the occasion and deliver for the country, Indias non-playing captain Rajpal, who is also the Executive Committee Member of the Indian Olympic Association, said. AITA Secretary General Dhupar felt the Davis Cup will be good for youth from the state. Uttar Pradesh is going to witness a different world of tennis after the Davis Cup. They have built new courts, new infrastructure and this will help the youngsters and aspiring tennis players to participate in good tournaments, he said. The matches will begin at 2 pm on Saturday, while the second and final day action on Sunday will start at 1 pm. I think its a good draw and well see some great matches. We are looking forward to competing tomorrow. We came a week earlier so we are getting used to the heat and humidity. We are happy with the start time, said Morocco captain Mehdi Tahiri.(ANI)
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