4 min readJan 31, 2025 11:12 PM IST
First published on: Jan 31, 2025 at 11:12 PM IST
Missing their two best players, and with the governing body of their sport at a standstill due to a petition in court, the Davis Cup team seeks to give Indian tennis a much-needed shot in the arm as they start their World Group 1 playoff tie, against vastly lower-ranked opposition Togo, at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
The tie, while favourable in home conditions and against players of lesser repute, has the potential to be a banana skin for the Indian team that has flip-flopped between the World Group 1 and World Group 2 phase of the Davis Cup for a few years now. The possibility of slipping up against an unpredictable group of players while under pressure to deliver after their disappointing previous defeat away to Sweden last year, looms large.
India are without their singles no. 1 Sumit Nagal and doubles no. 1 Yuki Bhambri, who are currently playing on the ATP Tour. Meanwhile, the old office-bearers of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) continue to be front and centre after a petition, filed by former players Somdev Devvarman and Purav Raja, in the Delhi High Court has halted the publication of the results of their latest election.
With that in the background, the team’s singles challenge will be spearheaded by World No. 365 Sasikumar Mukund and World No. 406 Ramkumar Ramanathan. The opposition, though, is considerably weaker. Only one of their players, Thomas Setodji, is on the ATP rankings, occupying the World No. 1256 spot. Setodji though, is French-born and bred, albeit of Togolese descent. His career high rank was 764.
The team’s singles challenge will be spearheaded by World No. 365 Sasikumar Mukund and World No. 406 Ramkumar Ramanathan
India’s non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal was cautious before claiming India are the overwhelming favourites, stressing how much the best players will be missed.
Rajpal did not lay the blame on Nagal, whose public tiff with AITA has lasted over a year and resulted in him missing three ties, or Bhambri, who was also missing in Sweden. Both have not specified their reasons for missing the tie.
“It’s a complex issue. Professional tennis is brutal, players are away from home and travelling week after week and we need to be a little more sensitive to these guys, need to understand their needs,” he said.
The burden of responsibility will then fall on Mukund, who is scheduled to play two crucial singles matches– the opener against Liova Ajavon on Saturday and then the fourth rubber against Setodji on Sunday.
Mukund lost his debut Davis Cup rubber in 2023 after cramping in humid conditions in Lucknow in India’s World Group 2 tie against Morocco. It was Nagal who had stepped up to brush aside the lower-ranked opposition then. Later, his unavailability for the ties in Pakistan and Sweden was followed by a suspension on ‘disciplinary grounds’, and he publicly vented his frustration with the governing body – there seems to be a theme there – but the 28-year-old returns this week to lead the side in the absence of Nagal.
In the only doubles tie on Sunday, Olympian N Sriram Balaji will team up with debutant Rithvik Bollipalli – both top 100 players – in the absence of the higher-ranked Bhambri.
Fixtures:
Saturday (February 1):
Sasikumar Mukund vs Liova Ajavon
Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Thomas Setodji
Sunday (February 2):
N Sriram Balaji/Rithvik Bollipalli vs Thomas Setodji/Padio Isak
Sasikumar Mukund vs Thomas Setodji
Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Liova Ajavon
India’s Mukund Sasikumar in action against Morocco’s Yassine Dlimi. (FILE) 
The team’s singles challenge will be spearheaded by World No. 365 Sasikumar Mukund and World No. 406 Ramkumar Ramanathan
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