Davis Cup: Suresh, Uncapped College Star, to Spearhead India's Campaign Against Switzerland

A year ago, captain Rohit Rajpal made a conservative choice to field Sriram Balaji, the senior most player in the Indian team, in the singles against Sweden in a World Group I tie in Stockholm. The team was depleted in the absence of leading singles player Sumit Nagal but with Balaji being a doubles specialist, Rajpal had to cop criticism for failing to use the opportunity to blood a young Aryan Shah. Twelve months later, the captain has shown a leap of faith by picking a player, orignially named in the reserve, ahead of two higher-ranked players in the squad. On Thursday, Rajpal nominated Dhakshineswar Suresh, who plays for Wake Forest University in the US college tennis and had made rapid strides in recent months, along with Nagal in singles in the tie against Switzerland in Biel. Suresh, a 25-year-old big serving 6’-5” tall lad from the tempel town of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, was drawn to play Jerome Kym in the opening singles followed by Nagal against Marc-Andrea Huesler at the Swiss Tennis Arena in Biel on Friday. Kym is ranked 155th in the singles charts while Huesler is 222nd. Ironically, Suresh’s Cup debut will come at the cost of 19-year-old Shah, the second highest-ranked India at the moment at 401 in the ATP computer. The teenager had been unwell last week and that may have been a factor in Rajpal’s choice.
Also returning to the Davis Cup fold along with Nagal is Bhambri, but the World No. 35 (in doubles) has been sidelined by a heel injury he suffered during his semifinal run with New Zealand’s Michael Venus at the US Open. He has been replaced by Rithvik Chaudary Bollipalli, who will pair up with Balaji in the doubles rubber against Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker on Saturday. Nagal will face Kym in the first reverse singles followed by Suresh against Husler, subject to nominations remaining unchanged. The 28-year-old Nagal has slipped in rankings to 290 and has played primarily on clay, his most favoured surface, since losing in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon, whereas the tie will be played on indoor hard. Whether the bounce and pace suits the former world No. 68 remains to be seen. Given the circumstances, the spotlight will be firmly on 621st ranked Suresh, who has done well in singles and doubles.