Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Karan Singh made the most of their Davis Cup debut as India wrapped up a comfortable 4-0 win over lower-ranked Togo in a World Group I Playoff tie.
S. Mukund and Ramkumar Ramanathan had provided the host a 2-0 lead after winning their respective singles rubbers on the first day.
On Sunday, in front of 2000-odd spectators on the Center Court at the DLTA complex, Rithvik and Olympian N. Sriram Balaji put the tie to bed as they took down M’lapa Tingou Akomlo and Hod’abalo isak Padio 6-2, 6-1 in 57 minutes.
In ideal conditions for tennis — temperature in low 20s, fleeting sunlight and barely any strong winds — Rithvik and Balaji dominated the less-experienced Togolese pair.
The two Indians don’t play together regularly on the ATP Tour but they did pair up for two Challengers in November last year, and ended up winning one of them. That chemistry was visible as Balaji barely lost a point on his serve while Rithvik showed excellent skills at the net.
For Togo, Thomas Setodji — the only ranked player in the squad — was supposed to play with Padio. However, Akomlo had to step in for Setodji, who had his right arm heavily strapped during his singles loss against Ramkumar and the same issue forced him to sit out for the rest of the tie.
READ MORE | Mukund, Ramkumar win in straight-sets as India takes 2-0 lead against Togo
Padio, the 20-year-old college tennis player based in the USA, showed some promise while Akomlo dropped his serve thrice in the match and committed most of the errors.
While the Indian pair led 4-1 in the second set, Karan left the players’ bench and went out of the Center Court, giving a hint about him possibly warming up for the reverse singles.
Indeed, Karan took the court half an hour after the doubles rubber got over and faced Padio with Mukund replacing Rohit Rajpal in the captain’s chair.
With his coach Aditya Sachdeva watching from the stands, the 21-year-old Karan showed variety in his game. He was willing to come to the net to finish the points. He hit a few drop shots after pinning Padio to the baseline. He also crunched some crosscourt forehand passes when Padio tried to close the net.
Karan’s game slightly lost its shine as he dropped his serve once in the second set, with his backhand seeming to be a work in progress. But overall, the youngster impressed in his first outing for the national team.
The two teams decided against playing the second reverse singles.
India will next compete in a World Group I tie in September where its opponent will either be one of the winners from the other World Group I Playoffs or the defeated sides from the Qualifiers played this weekend.
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