Mukund to kick off India’s challenge against Morocco in World Group 2 playoffs

LUCKNOW: Sasikumar Mukund will kickstart India’s challenge in the Davis Cup World Group II playoffs tie against Morocco when he takes on World No. 557 Yassine Dlimi in the opener at the Vijayant Khand Mini Stadium in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow on Saturday.

Whereas Sumit Nagal will face Adam Moundir in the second singles on Day One.

Besides Mukund, the Indian team is represented by Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, and Nagal, while Rohit Rajpal will be the captain.

The draw ceremony was conducted by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath at his official residence on Friday. He also wished the players luck for the tie.

The draw ceremony was also attended by All India Tennis Association (AITA) President Anil Jain, Secretary General Anil Dhupar, other officials, captains, and players from both teams.

“I am grateful to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for taking time out from his busy schedule to conduct the draws. To provide such excellent facilities in such a short time with the help and guidance of the Chief Minister, you cannot thank him enough. The infrastructure that has been provided by the Uttar Pradesh government and Uttar Pradesh Tennis Association is just marvellous,” AITA President Jain said.

On Sunday, Bopanna will team up with Bhambri to take on Morocco’s doubles pair of Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami whereas Nagal and Mukund will play Dlimi and Moundir respectively in the reverse singles on the final day.

There is a lot of excitement around rubber where Bopanna, who recently finished runner-up at the US Open men’s doubles final, will be playing his final Davis Cup match.

“The draw seems fine. Normally, every captain prefers his No. 1 player comes on court first to give the country an advantage. My first preference was Sumit to play first. It’s going to be challenging in terms of the weather. The idea is to keep the players hydrated and feed them with a lot of electrolytes. No team is easy; no player is easy in today’s time. Both our players need to rise to the occasion and deliver for the country,” India’s non-playing captain Rajpal, said.

AITA Secretary General Dhupar felt the Davis Cup will be great for youngsters from the state. “Uttar Pradesh is going to witness a different world of tennis after the Davis Cup. The state has built new courts, new infrastructure and this will help all the youngsters and aspiring tennis players to participate in good tournaments,” he said.

The matches will begin at 2pm on Saturday, while the second and final day action on Sunday will start at 1pm.

“I think it’s a good draw and we’ll see some great matches. We are looking forward to competing on Saturday. We came a week earlier so we are getting used to the heat and humidity. We are happy with the start time,” said Morocco captain Mehdi Tahiri.

Matches will be live on Doordarshan Sports and Sony Sports Network.