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India eyes Rooney’s challenge in Davis Cup playoff tie

It will be challenging for the Indian Davis Cup team to retain their place in World Group I when they take on Holger Rune-led Denmark in their Davis Cup playoff tie from Friday. The Indian team does not have a single player in the top 300 while the presence of world number nine Rooney will make the hosts contenders to retain World Group I. India had whitewashed Denmark 4-0 in Delhi in March 2022 but it will be a different story for the team with the 19-year-old Rooney, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open last month and won three ATP titles in 2022 .

India will need to plan well to deal with Roone and put up a good show against lower-ranked players in Denmark, including August Holmgren (ranked 484) and Elmer Möller (ranked 718). The team has decided to drop Yuki Bhambri, who is the second highest ranked player in the country, on Day 1 so that Sumit Nagal can go in as the number one player. Holmgren may be ranked low but he will not be easy to beat. The doubles match is going to be crucial and Rohan Bopanna will have to use his experience to lead the team.

The new format was introduced in the year 2019 and the Indian team managed to retain the World Group I but the team will have to fight hard to retain its position. The team has three singles players – Prajnesh Gunneswaran (306), Ramkumar Ramanathan (412) and Sumit Nagal (509) – while Shashi Kumar Mukund was not included. But it is not surprising that captain Rohit Rajpal has decided to feed Bhambri. He has left the singles format on the ATP Tour but is such a good player on indoor courts (where external factors like wind do not affect him) that it is difficult to ignore him.

Yuki will start the match against Rune while Nagal will face Holmgren. The indoor court is newly built which is a bit slow with a waist height bounce on it. According to captain Rajpal and coach Zeeshan Ali, Nagal is looking the fastest in the Indian team. Nagal also looked in good form in Pune where he lost after challenging. Captain Rajpal said, “A waist height bounce will not help us like a grass court. The less it is, the better it is for us. It suits them more, that’s why they have made this type of court. The team management admitted that the team is feeling the pressure ahead of the tie as there is not a single player in the top 300 in the team. Bopanna and Yuki will face Johannes Ingildsen and Kristian Sigsgaard on the second day. However, if the host wishes, she can take off the rune on the second day as well.

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