India’s Nagal Summit (PTI Photo/Sailendra Bhojak) The Davis Cup qualifier tie between India and the Netherlands was dragged to a decisive final on Sunday after Sumit Nagal’s singles loss allowed the visitors to draw 2-2, erasing the advantage India had gained with a dramatic doubles win earlier in the day.Nagal, who had given India the perfect start by taking the opening set, failed to sustain the momentum as he went down 7-5, 1-6, 4-6 to world number 88 Jesper de Jong in a punishing match that stretched for almost three hours. The defeat set up a winner-takes-all fifth singles, with Dhakshineswar Suresh again tasked with the responsibility of seeing India through. He will face Dutch debutant Guy de Ouden, who defeated Nagalo on Saturday.
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India had earlier gone 2-1 up after Yuki Bhambri and Dhakshineswar Suresh overcame David Pelo and Sander Arends in a thrilling doubles rubber to win 7-6 (0), 3-6, 7-6 (1) in a match that swung repeatedly over three hours.In reverse singles, Nagal broke De Jong in the opening game and kept his errors in check early. However, the Dutchman clawed his way back as he won three games in a row to take a narrow lead. After trading breaks, Nagal found another lift late in the set, breaking in the 11th game and confidently closing it out with a powerful forehand winner.Conditions slowed down in the second set, which initially seemed to suit Nagal’s striking game. However, De Jong regained control with a double break to open up a 5-1 lead. Despite Nagal saving several break points in a long sixth game, De Jong eventually forced the decision.The Dutchman struck early in the final set and gradually wore Nagala down in a physically demanding phase. Although Nagal managed to break once, De Jong held his nerve to seal the match and tie the score.Earlier, India captain Rohit Rajpal’s decision to pair Bhambri and Dhakshineswar in doubles proved to be an inspired one. In the opening set, Bhambri tested repeatedly on serve, but the Indian pair survived several break points before taking the tie-break without winning a point.The Netherlands responded in the second set when Bhambri’s serve troubles reappeared, allowing the visitors to break and level the match. The deciding set became a battle of patience with India creating several break chances that fizzled initially.The turning point came after Arends took a medical timeout for his left arm. From then on, his serve lost its bite and the Indians finally seized the opening to clinch the match and give themselves a slender advantage that now rests on Dhakshineswar’s shoulders in the deciding fifth rubber.
