Davis Cup 2024: India captain Rohit Rajpal expects an even tie against Sweden

It was easily the best chance ever in the history of the Davis Cup for India to score over Sweden. However, the non-availability of the leading singles and doubles players has eroded the strength of the Indian team that takes on Sweden in the World Group tennis tie on indoor hard courts in Stockholm on September 14 and 15.

“If we had Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri in the team, we would have had a slight edge over Sweden. Now the tie seems to be quite even”, said captain Rohit Rajpal from Stockholm on Wednesday.

“I am looking at the Swedish team practice right now. Rankings are very deceptive. Having watched a few Davis Cup ties in the Scandinavian region, I did feel that we would have a better chance with Sumit Nagal in the side. He is a tough grinder and not easy for anyone outside the top-200 to beat him,” observed Rohit.

Conceding that Ramkumar Ramanathan was quite experienced both in Davis Cup and on the Tour, and had beaten some top players, Rohit said, “Ram can do a lot with the ball. But his results are not that great in the last two months. And it is a matter of confidence coming into the tie”.

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Making the players train for singles, Rohit said that the load would taper off soon, to keep the players fresh for the match days.

“We have limited choice. We have to repeat players in singles and doubles. Most of our players are competing in doubles in the professional circuit. I am extremely happy for Siddharth Vishwakarma, Aryan Shah and Manas Dhamne”, said Rohit, adding that he felt Aryan and Manas were “shaping well” as the future of the team.

The captain pointed out that the indoor hard court, in a large “old beautiful stadium” that has been sold out for the tie, was playing medium pace and low bounce.

“It is both good and bad. We will try to keep the ball low. At the same time, we will not be defensive. We do know that it is the aggressive player who takes the match away”, he said.

“Bjorn Borg’s son, Leo has moved to be the No. 2 player now. I heard that apart from Borg, other top players of the past, Mats Wilander and Thomas Enqvist, would also be watching the tie. I tend to present it as the home pressure for Sweden. Their doubles team is good, similar to ours,” said Rohit.