Sumit saves the day

India’s Sumit Nagal returns to Morocco’s Adam Moundir in Lucknow on Saturday

Sumit Nagal saved home team the blushes with a commanding win after Sasikumar Mukund limped out of the opening singles in testing humid conditions as India and Morocco shared honours on the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group II tie here on Saturday.

Rain plays spoiltsport

A brief spell of rain before the match made the conditions challenging, and it came down to the fitness levels of the players. After being on court for three hours and five minutes, the 26-year-old Mukund conceded the battle between the debutants, soon after taking a medical timeout at 1-2 of the third set. Cramping badly and grimacing in pain, he retired when the score was 7-6 (4), 5-7, 1-4. The huge difference in the rankings notwithstanding - Mukund is 192 places above Dlimi at 365 - it was far from an easy game for the Indian Placed 156 on the ATP singles chart, Nagal then expectedly brought the team back with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over Adam Moundir, ranked 779. While it was a dull and long contest in the opening singles, Nagal and Moundir played some gripping tennis.

India's Mukund Sasikumar

Both the players hit the ball hard. Nagal, who is in good form and is enjoying a good run in the Challenger circuit, controlled the points well and made less unforced errors compared to his rival. Moundir showed stomach for a fight but did not put enough balls inside the lines. Clearly, Nagal's experience was a huge plus.

Also Read: Sumit Nagal wins Tampere Open tophy, claims fourth ATP Challenger title

Rohan Bopanna will play the last match of his Davis Cup career on Sunday with Yuki Bhambri. They will take on Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami Laaroussi.

‘Conditions are tough'

"We knew the fitness will play a huge role in this tie. The conditions are tough but it's same for both the players. Mukund had his chances and he did not take them. Once you start cramping and movement is restricted, psychologically, it becomes tough to come back," India coach Zeeshan Ali told PTI, summing up the first match.

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