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Tag: Davis cup

  • Andy Murray says he is not going to play Davis Cup

    Andy Murray plans to skip the Davis Cup as a result of he’s unsure he “deserves to play” for Britain and the previous world primary additionally stated he wants a while off earlier than competing on the Australian Open.
    Britain are as a consequence of play France and the Czech Republic in Innsbruck within the group levels of the Davis Cup on Nov. 27-28, with the competitors set to finish on Dec. 5.
    The Australian Open is because of be held at Melbourne Park in January and 34-year-old Murray stated he desires to get better and likewise spend time along with his household earlier than enjoying on the first Grand Slam of the yr.
    “I’ve given a lot to the Davis Cup and sometimes to my detriment physically,” Murray instructed the BBC after Tuesday’s third-round Indian Wells defeat by Alexander Zverev.
    “I additionally don’t really feel proper now I might be enjoying, both. Obviously that may be as much as (Britain captain) Leon (Smith), however I’m undecided I should play in that crew.
    “Right now, I’m not planning on playing Davis Cup and with the late finish to it, and early departure to Australia, with my schedule between now and the end of the year, I am going to have to rest and take a break and give my body a chance to breathe.”
    Melbourne has been locked down for months as authorities battle to regulate an outbreak of the extremely infectious Delta variant whereas rolling out vaccinations.Tennis Australia has not but disclosed any preparations for gamers for the Grand Slam.

  • 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: Prajnesh loses to lower-ranked Virtanen, India down 0-1 in tie

    Prajnesh Gunneswaran but once more misplaced to a lower-ranked participant within the Davis Cup to depart India path 0-1 within the World Group I tie towards Finland, right here on Friday.
    Up towards Otto Virtanen, ranked as little as 419 within the ATP rating chart, the one hundred and sixty fifth ranked Prajnesh misplaced 3-6 6-7(1) in only one hour 25 minutes.
    Ramkumar Ramanathan now must beat Finland’s primary participant, Enil Ruusuvuori, who’s ranked 74 on this planet to maintain India within the hunt.
    It was an excellent draw for India with Prajnesh taking part in first towards a lower-ranked participant however Virtanen stroked fluently and walked away with a simple win.
    Prajnesh saved two breaks early however dropped serve within the sixth recreation to fall behind within the opening set. The left-hander received an opportunity to interrupt again when Virtanen double-faulted at deuce level within the subsequent recreation however Prajnesh couldn’t capitalise on the prospect.
    Virtanen served out the set with none fuss within the ninth recreation.
    With house assist, Virtanen stored the Indian beneath the pump. Prajnesh was once more at risk of dropping serve early within the second set however he managed to carry the third recreation after a few deuce factors.
    Prajnesh stored preventing until 4-all however was down 0-40 after serving a double fault within the ninth recreation. However, he saved 5 breakpoints and finally held the sport with a well-calculated drop shot.
    The Indian served the eleventh recreation set love and now wanted to interrupt his rival, who was taking part in effortlessly.
    He received that little likelihood when Virtanen hit forehand on web at deuce level however the Finnish pulled off an ace on the break level. Eventually it went to a tie-breaker, wherein Prajnesh fell behind 0-3 after which 1-5.
    An angled serve that Prajnesh couldn’t return gave the house participant a match level, which he transformed with a simple winner.

  • 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.

  • Flying Finn Ruusuvuori greatest menace for India in Davis Cup tie

    Austria led Finland 2-1 in a Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie in 2019 when Dominic Thiem stepped on courtroom. The World No. 5 was the largest identify within the tie – a two-time French Open finalist on the time – as he ready to face a little-known participant named Emil Ruusuvuori. This was the primary time the teen was up in opposition to a high 10 participant. But that made little distinction to him as he pulled off a 6-3, 6-2 upset.
    On paper, Austria was anticipated to run away with the tie. They finally gained 3-2, however solely after a deciding set tie-breaker within the fifth match. And it reached that far solely due to Ruusuvuori’s heroics.
    “That was a long day, and I didn’t expect it,” Austrian captain Stefan Koubek was quoted as saying.
    Ruusuvuori had already been turning heads by his progress up the charts. He began 2019 ranked 402 and completed it at 121. But it was on the Espoo Metro Areena – a facility used primarily for ice hockey – the place he picked up his profession’s greatest win. On Friday, now ranked 74, he’ll take to the identical courtroom when he leads the Finnish cost in opposition to the travelling Indians for a Davis Cup playoff spot.

    The 22-year-old was simply 5 when he began taking part in tennis. He was launched to the game when a neighborhood coach noticed him taking part in badminton together with his mom close to their dwelling in Helsinki. Now he’s the highest-ranked singles participant that may characteristic within the tie this weekend.
    The match-up was initially scheduled for September final 12 months however was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the interim, Finland’s spearhead managed to interrupt into the highest 100 for the primary time in his profession and has by no means fallen again into three digits for over every week. And there’s no shock in his upward trajectory.
    Big recreation hunter
    Ruusuvuori reached the semi-finals of the Nur Sultan ATP occasion final 12 months, and likewise made the last-four stage of ATP occasions in Winston-Salem and Atlanta up to now few months. And Thiem has not been his solely top-10 scalp.
    In March, competing in his first-ever ATP 1000 Masters, he got here from behind to upset then World No. 7 Alexander Zverev in Miami. It was a match that noticed the Finn’s potential to seamlessly change technique. In the primary set, he tried to redirect Zverev’s firepower. When that didn’t work, he began to fluctuate his recreation. His made liberal use of topspin, slice and drop photographs. He began to strike the ball early as effectively, giving Zverev much less time to react, and got here to the online usually to complete off factors.
    Pulling off a comeback win – after dropping the primary set – is one thing he’s carried out in opposition to each the Indian gamers he’s more likely to face this weekend. He beat World No. 187 and India No. 3 Ramkumar Ramanathan 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 after they met at a Challenger occasion in Canberra final 12 months. Earlier this 12 months, Ruusuvuori beat India No. 1 Prajnesh Gunneswaran (ranked 165) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 on the Washington DC ATP occasion.
    In between the 2 matches, he was even invited to coach with Rafael Nadal through the 2020 low season.
    A change in Davis Cup guidelines final season ended the zonal segregation in Group 1. Which is how India, a workforce that will play within the erstwhile Asia/Oceania group, may draw Europe’s Finland. India had usually been robust within the zonal Group 1 levels – they’ve reached the World Group Playoffs for the previous seven years. The Finns, nevertheless, would be the strongest workforce they’ve come up in opposition to within the group stage in that point.
    And Ruusuvuori is the largest participant they’d have confronted at this stage of the competitors.