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Tag: davis cup 2021

  • Davis Cup: Bopanna, Ramkumar lose in must-win match; India lose tie to Finland

    Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their probabilities within the must-win doubles match as India misplaced the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, right here on Saturday.
    Captain Rohit Rajpal modified the doubles mixture on the final minute by pairing Bopanna with Ramkumar as an alternative of left-handed Divij Sharan however nothing helped as they misplaced the essential match 6-7(2) 6-7(2) to Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara in a single hour and 38 minutes.

    🇫🇮 3️⃣-0️⃣ 🇮🇳
    Suomi voittaa maaottelun Kontinen/Heliövaara vietyä nelinpelin 7-6(2), 7-6(2)!
    Kiitos yleisö kannustuksesta, yhdessä enemmän – yhdessä menestyen! pic.twitter.com/cxl0uwRPTX
    — Suomen Tennisliitto (@tennisfi) September 18, 2021
    Both Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar had misplaced their singles matches on Friday and to remain alive within the tie, the Indians wanted to win the doubles.
    The reverse singles have now been rendered inconsequential.
    Heliovaara was thought-about probably the most weak of all 4 gamers on the court docket however he raised his recreation by a number of notches and created a big impact on the end result of the match along with his fearless method.
    The Indian, quite the opposite, fumbled even once they had benefit as they squandered as many as 4 breakpoints within the eight-game of the second set when successful that recreation may have given them the prospect to place the hosts underneath the pump.
    After doing all of the laborious work, the Indians cracked at essential junctures.
    At 3-3, the Indian pair attacked the serve of Heliovaara, going 30-all however the house participant served large on the following two factors to make sure the set stays on serve.
    Eventually, the opening set went to tie-breaker. Heliovaara discovered a shocking service return winner off Bopanna on the second level to get the mini-break and in addition held his function Finland took a 4-1 lead.
    Then got here Ramkumar’s double fault and a volley error on the web that gave Finland gamers 5 set factors. They transformed the second when Ramkumar couldn’t return Kontinen’s serve.
    A forehand winner by Ramkumar at 30-all within the second recreation of the second set, arrange the primary break likelihood for India and so they transformed when Kontinen couldn’t return Bopanna’s backhand.
    However, the big-serving Bopanna dropped his personal serve within the subsequent recreation when he made consecutive unforced errors.
    Bopanna’s serve once more got here underneath assault however he managed to carry after taking place to deuce factors from 40-15 as India led 4-3.
    In the following recreation, the Indians went up 40-0 on Heliovaara’s serve however blew away all three breakpoints and later yet another to let the rivals maintain for a 4-4 scoreline.
    Another tie-breaker adopted. Helovaara pulled of a sensational forehand winner at 5-2 to get to first match level and it was throughout for India when Ramkumar couldn’t return the ball within the subsequent level.

  • Davis Cup: Finland’s Ruusuvuori, Virtanen give hosts 2-0 lead towards India

    There was no urgency in his stroll to the baseline. No signal of fear both when he was dealing with a set level – as a substitute there was a wry smile on Otto Virtanen’s face. His motion, even throughout lengthy rallies, was languid. He wore a baseball cap backwards so as to add to the nonchalant manner. He was the underdog, with nothing to lose.
    Ranked 419 on the planet, up towards World No 165 Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Virtanen was enjoying the opening match for Finland within the World Group 1 Davis Cup tie towards the Indians. Serving at 5-6, 30-40 – set level for Prajnesh – within the second set, Virtanen, with the identical air of nonchalance, walked to the baseline and hammered down his ninth ace of the match. A couple of minutes later, he closed out the match for a shock 6-3, 7-6(1) win.
    A few hours later, Emil Ruusuvuori made it 2-0 for the hosts with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Ramkumar Ramanathan.

    ????2???0??????@EmilRuusuvuori closes out Ramanathan 6-4 7-5 to make it two-for-two for the hosts towards India!#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/DjRbRAiJ2d
    — Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 17, 2021
    In their first-ever tie towards the Finland within the Davis Cup, India was handed a troublesome problem on the Espoo Metro Areena, round 30 km from Helsinki. The hosts have World No. 74 Ruusuvuori, the highest-ranked singles participant within the tie. So, the guests have been concentrating on 20-year-old Virtanen, enjoying in solely his second Davis Cup tie, for 2 out of the three factors they should advance.
    It additionally helped the Indian trigger that their No. 1 would play Virtanen first within the hope {that a} win may put scoreboard stress on 22-year-old Ruusuvuori within the second match.
    But the aggressive teen, the son of former Finnish Davis Cup participant Pasi Virtanen, got here up with an early shock. He broke Prajnesh’s serve within the sixth recreation of the match and by no means let go of the lead thereon. It was the one break of the match, however Virtanen did have one other seven alternatives to interrupt serve once more. Five of these have been saved when Prajnesh was serving at 4-4 within the second set.
    Rising to the event
    On his personal serve, Virtanen confronted simply two break factors –saving each, together with the large flat ace large when dealing with set level.
    “It was a combination of him coming up with the goods in the big moments, and me not doing enough,” says Prajnesh after the match.
    “It was a pretty good match from Otto. He served pretty well today, didn’t give away any free points. Played pretty well when he had the lead.”
    India did have a slight benefit from the draw with Prajnesh enjoying first. But they have been all the time operating the chance of the left-hander not being at his greatest. The 31-year-old from Chennai has struggled with wrist accidents all through this season, and it has affected his type as effectively.
    “I’m not playing my sharpest, considering the fact that I’ve had injuries and not played too much. But every player goes through that at some point. That’s not an excuse for not being able to find a way today,” he says.

    Photos from the observe session right now morning that includes Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni
    Photos courtesy @siyer30 sir / @TennisFi pic.twitter.com/SAZWb4kNC8
    — Indian Tennis Daily (@IndTennisDaily) September 17, 2021
    “I didn’t do what I needed to today. Few loose games here and there. I feel like I didn’t convert on some of the close situations.”
    Virtanen although, held his personal moderately effectively. He had a 73 p.c first serve share (55/75) – together with 10 aces – in comparison with Prajnesh’s 58 p.c (40/69). His service remained unbroken all through the match, together with the tie-breaker he went on to win 7-1 – the place Prajnesh dedicated 4 unforced errors.
    In solely his third Davis Cup match, the teen from Hyvinkaa has picked up the most important win in his profession over a participant as soon as ranked as excessive as 75 on the planet.
    Ruusuvuori makes it 2-0
    Ruusuvuori in the meantime held off Ramkumar within the first set that noticed each gamers wrestle to search out their vary. They traded breaks early, earlier than Ruusuvuori managed to get the decisive break within the tenth recreation of the set to go 6-4.
    They began to carry their serves higher within the second set, however Ramkumar, serving second, was once more damaged on the most important stage within the match. Ruusuvuori dispatched a backhand-down-the-line return winner to earn the one break within the second set to assert it 7-5 and provides Finland a 2-0 lead.
    On Saturday, the veteran duo of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan will begin proceedings in the one doubles match of the tie towards Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara.

  • Davis Cup: India count on Prajnesh to offer lead

    If India’s upcoming Davis Cup tie towards Finland is to be a tricky process, the draw on Thursday got here out in favour of the guests. This is the primary time India will play within the World Group 1, after the format was modified in 2020. In the earlier construction, India would play within the Asia/Oceania Group, the place they’ve bossed for the previous seven years. But of their first ever tie towards Finland, the Indians come up towards a workforce that can subject increased ranked gamers.
    There is the 22-year-old Emil Ruusuvuori – who has overwhelmed the likes of Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev – who’s the very best ranked singles participant within the tie, 74. Their doubles workforce consists of World No 76 (in doubles) Harri Heliovaara and former No 1 Henri Kontinen (at the moment 46), who gained the 2016 Wimbledon blended doubles and 2017 Australian Open males’s doubles title. Their weakest hyperlink on paper is 20-year-old Otto Virtanen, ranked 419.
    India tackle Finland within the Davis Cup.
    Crucially for the Indians, the opening rubber will see its No 1 participant Prajnesh Gunneswaran (165) come up towards Virtanen.
    “We are happy that (Prjanesh) plays first. If he plays to potential and performs, then we should go up 1-0, and the pressure will be on (Ruusuvuori) to beat Ramkumar (Ramanathan),” says India workforce captain Rohit Rajpal.
    “Ram is a very versatile player. We are preparing him well for this match.”
    Ramkumar, India’s third highest ranked singles participant at 187, will play the second rubber on Friday towards the Finnish spearhead.
    On Saturday, the tie will resume with the only doubles rubber. India No 1 and a couple of Rohan Bopanna (44) and Divij Sharan (86) respectively will play Kontinen and Heliovaara, adopted by the reverse singles matches – Ruusuvuori-Prajnesh and Virtanen-Ramkumar as the ultimate match.
    The ‘luck’ component from the draw for the guests on the Espoo Metro Areena, is that Finland’s principal singles participant will play within the second and fourth rubbers. As Rajpal claims, Prajnesh would be the favorite to choose up the win towards Virtanen so as to add strain on Ruusuvuori.
    Furthermore, on Saturday, ought to the tie be levelled at 2-2 and go into the deciding rubber, it’ll be the unfancied Virtanen who will come up towards the 26-year-old Ramkumar, who travelled to Espoo recent after reaching the quarterfinals of a Challenger in France, beating former World No 10 Ernests Gulbis en route.
    Ramkumar, India’s third highest ranked singles participant at 187, will play the second rubber on Friday towards the Finnish spearhead.
    Prajnesh nevertheless, who had reached a profession excessive of 75 and is the one at the moment energetic Indian singles participant to have damaged into the highest 100, has been affected by recurring wrist accidents this yr. Should he not be match for the fourth rubber within the best-of-five match tie, he shall be changed by the bottom ranked singles participant within the tie, World No 573 Saketh Myneni, whose final aggressive match was at a Futures occasion in March.
    Yet there’s confidence relating to Prajnesh’s present health.
    “He’s been hitting the ball very well and there’s no sign of any injury,” says workforce coach Zeeshan Ali.
    “There was a scare a few weeks back when he told me his wrist had been bothering him. He went back to Chennai to get some rehab done. But coming here, he’s been hitting the ball well, he’s moving well. The court also seems to be suiting him with the speed and everything. This is the best I have seen him play.” The intention shall be to focus on the 2 singles rubbers towards Virtanen and the doubles match to realize the required three factors to win the tie. At an indoor venue that was initially designed for ice hockey, towards a difficult opponent, India hopes to make it to an eight consecutive playoff.

  • Davis Cup: India look to topple resolute Finland in first spherical tie

    India’s singles gamers might want to again their expertise with some killer intuition for the staff to emerge victorious towards a fairly sturdy Finland within the Davis Cup World Group I tie, beginning right here on Friday.
    Prajnesh Guneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan have the expertise of enjoying the massive matches.
    They have rubbed shoulders with higher gamers but it surely’s time for them to maneuver ahead from enjoying mere shut matches. They have to ship that knockout punch that may take India to the subsequent 12 months’s Qualifiers.
    If Ramkumar can play the identical means he competed towards 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic within the earlier tie towards Croatia and doesn’t miss the probabilities he will get, India may have an excellent probability within the tie.
    As the second-best ranked participant from India, Ramkumar will probably be up towards Finland’s primary participant Emil Ruusuvuori, who’s positioned 74 on the earth, on the opening day of the tie.
    If Ramkumar takes the courtroom first and places India on board, that will probably be an enormous end result for the guests and take the strain off Prajnesh (ranked 165) who will most definitely compete towards Otto Virtanen (ranked 419).
    Prajnesh too will get near wins together with his expertise however has the tendency of giving up advantageous positions, just like the one towards Borna Coric within the final tie towards Croatia.
    Maybe it’s strain of enjoying for the flag however the left-hander from Chennai insists it isn’t the case. “Matches against good players are always close if I’m playing well. I have won matches against good players being in the lead and I have also lost matches being in the lead. That’s just the way they go,” Prajnesh advised PTI.
    “Matches that are intently fought can go both means. There is not any strain of enjoying for India that influences me…Sometimes there’s extra strain, different instances that’s much less.
    “Again, just depends on how well I cope on that particular day,” he added.

    India thought of the doubles level of their pocket until the time Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi competed collectively however now issues have modified.
    Rohan Bopanna (44) has immense expertise of the massive stage and he wants to make use of all of that to shepherd the staff with Divij Sharan (86) since their opponents — Henri Kontinen (ranked 46) and Harri Heliovaara (ranked 76) — will probably be a troublesome nut to crack.
    Bopanna and Sharan have performed just one tie collectively, successful towards Italy in March 2019.
    Most of 40-year-old Bopanna’s doubles wins have come both with both Paes or Saketh Myneni.
    It stays to be seen if captain Rohit Rajpal fields Bopanna with Sharan or Myneni, who’s the fifth member of the squad.
    Kontinen has performed three of the 4 Grand Slams this 12 months with Edouard Roger-Vasselin however paired with Heliovaara on the US Open, in all probability to prepare for this tie.
    They had an honest first spherical earlier than shedding in an in depth three-set match.
    Non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal feels that the situations will not be completely within the favour of the hosts for the reason that low bounce of the courts will profit the Indian gamers, who can play the chip-and-charge recreation to counter their rivals.