Davis Cup: India start tamely as lower-ranked Morocco hold them 1-1 on opening day | Tennis News

India came into the home Davis Cup tie against Morocco with players in good form and ranked vastly higher than the opposition, having already been relegated to the World Group 2 – the third-tier – for the first time since the competition’s format change in 2019.Despite that, the pressure of high-stakes international team competition, and the physical conditioning required to compete in present-day tennis were evident, as Yassine Dlimi, the 20-year-old World No. 557, defeated India’s Mukund Sasikumar to give Morocco a short-lived lead, and end the tie poised at 1-1 on Day 1.Mukund was forced to retire in the third set after suffering from cramp, having dealt with the humidity in Lucknow and the nervous energy of making his Davis Cup debut in front of a partisan home crowd.
India’s no. 1 ranked player Sumit Nagal would later level the tie, routinely dismantling Adam Moundir 6-3, 6-3 and displaying a gulf in class despite facing a heavy-hitter with nothing to lose who was finding his shots with some lights out.
Prior to the start of the tie, on the sidelines of the draw ceremony on Friday, Morocco’s non-playing captain asserted that the excessively humid conditions in Lucknow will affect both sides, given the fact that Indian players spend most of their time outside the country. After the start of the tie was rained out, and massive humidity followed, the statement would prove to be prophetic.
India’s Mukund Sasikumar in action against Morocco’s Yassine Dlimi. (AITA)
Mukund came into his match ranked 365th, over 200 places higher than Dlimi, but the Moroccan came into the tie on the back of two finals and a semifinal at ITF level tournaments in Tunisia, while Mukund had lost four consecutive first-round qualifiers on the ATP tour.
And if there were ever an indicator for form and physicality outweighing ranking and level of competition, it was on full display across an over-three-hour-long brutal slugfest, Dlimi coming out on top 6-7(3), 7-5, 1-4 (RET) over Mukund thanks, in large part, to his greater appetite to take the initiative.
Dlimi’s serve and forehand combination, alongside his tendency to shrink the court adopting more aggressive positions coming into the baseline, were seeing greater results than Mukund’s conservative, defence-first approach. That was until the errors started leaking. Dlimi dipped while serving for the first set 5-4 up, making too many errors as Mukund was able to take advantage staying solid from the baseline. The Moroccan needed to serve himself out of trouble to set up the tiebreaker, where errors would be his undoing again.
Mukund edged the shootout and started the second set buoyed with confidence, the sweltering humidity made both players more conservative with their shotmaking, elongating the rallies. The slowness of the newly-laid courts at the Mini Stadium here played into those patterns of play. As Mukund failed to find his first serve throughout the back end of the second, Dlimi upped the speeds on his shots and began coming forward more to take advantage, winning four of the last five games after he lost his own serve. Mukund would regret choking from that dominant position, the match two holds of serve away, as he never bounced back from then, breaking down physically, taking timeouts at the end of the second and start of the third, before retiring.
India’s non-playing captain, in recognition of the fact that the humidity was the same for both players, said Mukund’s breakdown had more to do with his nerves. “The first match was disappointing,” he said. “I thought we had the match. A bit of experience was needed but Mukund consumed a lot of nervous energy and unfortunately started cramping.”
Nagal stamps his authority
While Nagal’s game was not dissimilar to Mukund’s, built around his defensive abilities thanks to swift movement and smart returning, his dismantling of Moundir on Saturday was telling of a different level altogether.Most Read
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From the get go, Nagal was redirecting all the pace from the other side of the court. Moundir, the World No. 779 who was only playing singles thanks to the withdrawal of Morocco’s top-ranked Elliot Benchetrit, was attacking with greater power and finding some brilliant winners. But Nagal’s solid defence, his hardcourt sliding and impressive defensive lobs – including one highlight in which he stole a point during a crucial hold in the fifth game of the second – made Moundir hit an extra shot or two even when he found impressive depth and pace.

Nagal strategized well, attacking Moundir’s second serve standing extra wide to bring his forehand into play, winning 82% of the points on the Moroccan’s second. He said the strategy, as well as the tendency to slide on the concrete, were not specific to the tie but just part of his style of play. He also revealed he was not prepared to play at night when the court started playing slower but had to adjust after the rain delay.Ultimately, he did not need to be above his base level to storm through his opponent.
The first day will slightly amp up the pressure on Rohan Bopanna, playing his final Davis Cup tie, who will play the first match on Sunday in doubles alongside Yuki Bhambri. Nagal and Dlimi, the winners on Saturday, will return to play the second match. If a fifth rubber is needed, Mukund may return, a call for which, according to Rajpal, will be taken after judging his physical level on Saturday.