Davis Cup: Nagal breezes past Moundir to break even after Mukund limps out of the opening singles

Sumit Nagal beat Adam Moundir 6-3, 6-3, while Sasikumar Mukund retired from his opening singles match against Yassine Dlimi, down 1-4 in the deciding set Sumit Nagal saved India’s blushes by beating Adam Moundir 6-3, 6-3 to help the hosts finish day one of the Davis Cup World Group II tie against Morocco 1-1.

Sumit Nagal saved India’s blushes by beating Adam Moundir 6-3, 6-3 to help the hosts finish day one of the Davis Cup World Group II tie against Morocco 1-1 here on Saturday.

After debutant Sasikumar Mukund retired from his opening singles match against Yassine Dlimi, down 1-4 in the deciding set — in a performance that appeared to call into question his physical conditioning and mental make-up — the pressure was on Nagal, the India No.1, to calm the nerves.

The 26-year-old answered the call in expert fashion, dismantling Moundir in an hour and 15 minutes. The latter had the more power-packed game, but his penchant to find the point-ending shot early in every rally proved his undoing.

It wasn’t as if Moundir didn’t compete. He broke Nagal’s serve once in the first set and stretched the Indian to a long hold in the fifth game of the second. But the World No.156 was calm when it mattered, defending superbly to come out victorious.

Earlier in the afternoon at the Vijayant Khand Mini Stadium, play started an hour-and-a-half late owing to rain. Humidity soared but it didn’t seem to bother Dlimi, who showed his intent to finish off points with a couple of crunching one-two punches.

But the match soon slipped into a battle of attrition, with the two fighting each other to a standstill (6-6). In the ensuing tie-break, Mukund found his attacking mojo, taking it to four points.

The fans erupted with joy and the time they took to settle back into their seats annoyed Dlimi. He was broken in the first game, and when Mukund led 4-3, 40-15, the match seemed as good as over.