The Davis Cup assumes centerstage over the next few days. From an Indian perspective, this is a golden chance for them to advance to the final eight, a stage they have never experienced in the new format. A look...
Who are India facing?
They are facing South Korea in Seoul on Friday and Saturday. They reached this stage of the competition after a pulse-pounding win over The Netherlands in the first round of the qualifiers earlier this year. Then, it was Dhakshineswar Suresh who was the star man for the hosts in Bengaluru. They will need something similar against the hosts.
What's the final eight?
In the competition's new-look format, seven of the eight teams advance via the qualifiers to join the hosts in a final tournament typically played at the end of the tennis season. Italy, hosts of this year's event, await the winners of the seven other qualifying matches. Then, there are quarters, semis and the winners face in the final.
From an Indian lens, they have a golden opportunity because out of the teams they could have played, South Korea isn't the strongest (US or France or Czech Republic etc. are some of other teams they could have drawn).
Who are South Korea's biggest weapons?
The seasoned Soonwoo Kwon, World No. 157, is the top player they have. Even if they have nobody else in the top 500 — India have three in the top 375 — rankings can be deceptive. Hyeon Chung, for example, was ranked as high as World No. 19 at one point. He had famously beaten Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2018. They will be playing in the slower hard court in Seoul.
The two squads
Korea (No. 16): Soonwoo Kwon, Hyeon Chung, Uisung Park, Jisung Nam, Seongchan Hong, Jong-Sam Chung (Captain)
India (No. 19): Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineswar Suresh, Manas Dhamne, N Sriram Balaji, Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, Rohit Rajpal (Captain)
What have they said
Soonwoo Kwon: “We have looked up on India and analysed their team, we are happy with our preparation. The first day will be the toughest because they have strong servers and they have very good players on their side.”
Sumit Nagal: “I can talk more about the singles players than the doubles because I don’t know them very well. In singles, yeah, we are of the same age, I’ve seen them from U12s. They are very good hardcourt players.”
The five matches
Friday: Soonwoo Kwon vs Dhakshineswar Suresh, Hyeon Chung vs Sumit Nagal
Saturday: Jisung Nam/Uisung Park vs N Sriram Balaji/Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, Kwon vs Nagal, Chung vs Dhakshineswar