Davis Cup: Indian team gets first round bye
The Indian Davis Cup squad, who recently lost to the number one-ranked Czech team in their playoffs in New Delhi, have received a first-round bye in the Oceania/Asia Group 1 playoff at the tournament.
Following the 3-1 loss to the side from the Czech Republic, India remain in the Oceania/Asia Group 1 Zone. They are top-seeded in the group, as a result of which they automatically progress to the second round of the tournament in their group.
This means they will play either the Korean side or New Zealand, hosting them on home ground. The Kiwi team last played the Indian side in July of this year, losing to them 3-2 in New Zealand. That face-off had seen Indians Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri put in strong performances at the singles to take India to an overall win. As a result of that victory, New Zealand missed out on the World Group promotion.
New Zealand are currently ranked 31st in the Davis Cup standings.
India last faced off against the Korean side in 2014, in the semi-finals of last year’s Cup. The Koreans received a first-round bye at that tournament, losing to India 3-1. Korea currently stand at 29th in the Davis Cup standings, not too far away from India’s ranking, although India’s track record against them is strong.
At the Indian squad’s recent loss to the Czech republic, Devvarman caused a major upset in beating the much-higher ranked Jiri Vesely and was lauded for a strong, all-round performance against a player 140 places above him in the rankings.
The top-ranked doubles pair of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna, however, did not fare so well; despite their depth of experience, they lost out to the pair of Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek in straight sets. The Czechs took that match 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to gain a 2-1 lead over the Indians.
The final day of play was dedicated to the reverse singles matches, with Jiri Vesely and Yuki Bhambri due to face off against each other, as were Devvarman and Czech Lukas Rosol, who beat Bhambri on the first day of play.
Bhambri, disappointingly, lost to Vesely in straight sets as the Czechs took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the playoff. As a result, the last match of the day and the playoff – Rosol v. Bhambri – was called off, with the No. 1 ranked Czech team taking the win and progressing through the Davis Cup.
Great Britain have fared excellently at the Davis Cup, winning their semifinal clash against the Australian side resoundingly. World No. 3 Andy Murray beat both Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis in the singles, and with brother Jamie Murray took a doubles victory against the pair of Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth. They are now in the finals of the tournament, a feat they have achieved for the first time since 1978.