India beat Morocco to advance to World Group I playoffs, Rohan Bopanna wins farewell tie
India beat Morocco to advance to World Group I playoffs, Rohan Bopanna wins farewell tie
In a 4-1 victory over Morocco on Sunday, India qualified to the World Group I playoffs. Rohan Bopanna ended his Davis Cup career with a straightforward victory with Yuki Bhambri before Sumit Nagal triumphed in the reverse singles.
In one hour and eleven minutes at the Mini Stadium, the 43-year-old Bopanna and Bhambri defeated Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami Laaroussi 6-2, 6-1. This was Bopanna’s 33rd and final match.
In the opening reverse singles match, India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal defeated Yassine Dlimi 6-3 6-3 to win the World Group II tie.
Nagal has only ever won both of his singles matches in a Davis Cup match twice. He had achieved a comparable outcome in 2019 when he played Pakistan in Kazakhstan.
In all of the sets, Nagal took an early lead, forcing Dlimi to play catch-up in the match that took an hour and 43 minutes to complete.
The unimportant fifth match was won by rookie Digvijay Pratap Singh, who finished second at the Fenesta Nationals the previous year, 6-1 5-7 10-6.
The 23-year-old practices at the National Tennis Centre (NTC) in New Delhi and must improve significantly if he wants to play at a high level.
Sasikumar Mukund gave up the initial singles match against Dlimi because of cramping, giving Morocoo the solitary victory in the match.
Bopanna’s Davis Cup career, which spanned 50 matches in 33 ties and saw him win 23 rubbers, including 13 in doubles, came to an emotional end as he laid his India shirt on the court.
Bopanna, who made his Davis Cup debut in 2002, thanked the support of the crowd and blew kisses in their direction while being watched by his family and friends.
About 50 members of Bopanna’s family and friends traveled by plane to Lucknow to see the Coorg player compete in the Davis Cup one more time. They were sporting T-shirts with images of Bopanna waving three colors on them.
The next generation of players will need to step up their game when one of the game’s most powerful servers leaves. The ATP Tour will still have Bopanna as a player.
while asked why he had chosen to stop competing in Davis Cup while he would still be competing on the Pro Tour, Bopanna gave an explanation.
“The biggest issue is that another Indian fills my position. That won’t occur throughout the tour, Bopanna said PTI.
And over time, taking a week off occasionally before significant events has made a difference. Therefore, if I discontinue Davis Cup and take those two weeks off, it will significantly impact how my body feels overall.
“We also have a four-year-old daughter, which is another important factor. I’d want to spend time at home as well. Everything must come to an end; even though it has been a wonderful ride.
While the Indians only faced one break point when Bhambri served and saved it, Younes was unable to hold his serve once throughout the entire encounter.
The first casualty was Younes being broken by the Indians. Younes scored the volley on a Bhambri backhand return at the 30-15 mark. On Younes’ return, Bhambri hammered a volley winner to score the first breakpoint.
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On a Bhambri return, Benchetrit attempted an angled volley winner, but the ball went out as Indians led 3-1. The following game, Bopanna started serving at love to make it 4-1.
In game eight, Younes’ serve was once more challenged. At 15-15, Bopanna came up with a victory, putting the Moroccan player down two break points after serving a double fault.
On a weak Younes return, Bhambri successfully converted the set point with a volley winner. The Indians lost five points on their serve, and the opening set was over in just 34 minutes.
With a comfortable hold to start the second set, Bopanna’s powerful serve was once again in action. However, Bhambri’s serve was put to the test in the third game when his half-volley pick up at 30-all went out of bounds.
In game four, Younes had a 40-0 lead on his serve but lost his composure, serving a double fault and committing numerous unforced errors, losing his service for the third time in the match. Bhambri finished serving the game.
