The Indian team is staring at a heavy defeat in its Davis Cup World Group I First Round tie after conceding a 0-2 result in hosts Norway following Ramkumar Ramnathan’s loss to Viktor Durasovic in the second singles right here.
Ramkumar, the primary singles participant for India, did not stay as much as expectations as he suffered a 1-6, 4-6 loss to his lower-ranked opponent Durasovic in one hour and 16 minutes on Friday evening.
After Prajnesh Gunneswaran misplaced to world No. 2 and US Open runner-up Casper Ruud 1-6 4-6 in an anticipated end result in the primary singles, the onus was on Ramkumar to maintain India in the tie by successful the second match.
But it was not be as Ramkumar, ranked 276 in the world, was no match for 325th-ranked Durasovic who broke Ramkumar’s serve thrice and despatched down 12 aces as in comparison with three of his Indian opponent at the Hakons Hall Hard Court indoor facility.
Durasovic despatched down 5 aces in the primary set whereas breaking Ramkumar’s serve twice. In the primary set, Ramkumar was capable of maintain solely his first service to make it 1-1 however after that it was Durasovic all the way in which. Ramkumar additionally had two double faults which made issues worse for him as Durasovic took the primary set simply.
Ramkumar tried to come back again in the second set however he failed to carry his second service sport handy Durasovic a 2-1 lead. The Indian was unable to interrupt Durasovic’s function the Norwegian fired seven aces. Leading 5-4, Durasovic held onto his serve to shut out the match.
Earlier, in the primary singles on Friday, world no. 2 Casper Ruud expectedly was too good for India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran, giving Norway a 1-0 lead.
Ruud, who completed runner-up at the US Open after taking place to Carlos Alcaraz on Monday, turned up for nationwide responsibility 4 days later and did the job for his team. He beat the 335-ranked Indian 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and two minutes.
After being completely outplayed in the primary set, Prajnesh lifted his sport in the second to make Ruud’s activity harder. While the Indian did not get a break level, his extra achieved opponent transformed three out of the 5 alternatives he received.
On day two, Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni will face Ruud and Durasovic in the doubles. In the reverse singles, additionally to be performed on Saturday, Ramkumar can be up against Ruud whereas Prajnesh faces Durasovic.