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India ended the opening day of their Davis Cup 2026 Qualifiers second-round tie against the Republic of Korea trailing 0-2 after Dhakshineswar Suresh and Sumit Nagal suffered defeats in their respective singles matches in Seoul on Friday, according to Olympics.com.
World No. 367 Dhakshineswar Suresh put up a strong fight before losing 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 to South Koreas world No. 157 Kwon Soon-woo in the opening rubber, which lasted two hours and five minutes. Suresh made a bright start, breaking Kwon in the second game to take a 3-0 lead before going on to claim the first set. However, Kwon bounced back in the second set, breaking Suresh in the sixth game and forcing a decider. The third set remained evenly poised at 2-2 before Kwon secured a crucial break in the fifth game and closed out the match to put Korea ahead. Indias top-ranked singles player Sumit Nagal, ranked world No. 247, then went down 6-2, 4-6, 5-7 against former Australian Open semi-finalist Chung Hyeon in the second singles match. Nagal started strongly, racing to a 4-0 lead before taking the opening set. Chung levelled the contest after breaking Nagal in the ninth game of the second set. In the deciding set, Chung took a 4-1 lead, but Nagal fought back to make it 4-4 and stayed in contention at 5-5. The South Korean held serve to move ahead 6-5 before breaking Nagal in the final game to complete the comeback. India now need to win all three matches on the second and final day to secure a place in the Davis Cup 2026 Final 8. In Saturdays opening doubles rubber, N Sriram Balaji and Niki Kalyanda Poonacha will face Nam Ji-sung and Park Ui-sung. If India win the doubles match, Nagal is scheduled to play Kwon Soon-woo in the first reverse singles, followed by Dhakshineswar Suresh taking on Chung Hyeon in the fifth rubber, if required. The winner of the tie will qualify for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Italy, in November, while the losing team will enter the first round of the 2027 Davis Cup Qualifiers. India have finished runners-up in the Davis Cup three times -- in 1966, 1974 and 1987 -- but are yet to qualify for the Final 8 under the current format. (ANI)
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