Dhakshineswar relied on his big serves and an energetic all-court game to begin his Davis Cup career on the right note.
| Photo Credit: AP
Dhakshineswar Suresh played as if in a dream to beat Jerome Kym 7-6(5), 6-3 and gave India a 1-0 start in the Davis Cup World Group-1 tennis tie on the indoor hard courts in Biel, Switzerland, on Friday (September 12, 2025).
Later, Sumit Nagal capitalised on the inspiring start to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-3, 7-6(4) in the second singles to help the visitors end the first day with a 2-0 lead.
The 25-year-old Dhakshineswar, making his Davis Cup debut despite his modest rank of 626, proved the faith placed on him with his big serves and energetic all-court game.
The key to the contest was Dhakshineswar wriggling out of 0-40 in the fourth game of the first set, and again saving breakpoints in the fifth and seventh games of the second set.
In between, he handled the first set tie-break with considerable poise.
“It feels like a dream. It is my debut for India in Davis Cup. I tried to be calm and play my game. There was pressure, but I am happy to have handled it well. It turned out to be good,” said Dhakshineswar.
The towering Dhakshineswar who has been playing well in the professional circuit as a student of the Wake Forest University in the USA, was happy to have recovered from the bunch of breakpoints to deliver an impressive lead for India, against the Swiss No. 1, ranked 155 in the world.
“Once I broke him. I thought that this is it. I have my serve. Played a pretty good game in the end,” said Dhakshineswar, who wound up the show with an ace down the middle, and celebrated with a clenched fist.
The results: India leads Switzerland 2-0 (Dhakshineswar Suresh bt Jerome Kym 7-6(5), 6-3; Sumit Nagal bt Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-3, 7-6(4)).
Published – September 12, 2025 07:25 pm IST
