Davis Cup: Balaji, Ramkumar flop in singles

N Sriram Balaji was easily tamed by Elias Ymer, while Ramkumar Ramanathan lacked the killer instinct even against a lower-ranked Leo Borg as India were left trailing 0-2 against Sweden in the Davis Cup World Group I tie, in Stockholm on Saturday.

Balaji, who is a doubles specialist, found the going tough against Ymer, who raced to a 6-4, 6-2 win in the opening singles.

Ramkumar, who is a seasoned Davis Cupper now, was expected to bring India back into the tie but he lost to 603-ranked Borg, son of the legendary Bjorn Borg 3-6, 3-6, in the second singles at the Royal Tennis Hall.

India were forced to field Balaji in singles as the country's top singles player Sumit Nagal opted out of the tie due to a back injury. While Balaji did the job against Pakistan, playing someone of the calibre of Ymer was always going to be a tough task.

The onus to win a point for India on the opening day was on Ramkumar. He should have won his singles match against the 21-year-old Borg but he did not seem to have a way to go past the Swede.

Ramkumar's challenge fell apart in just 58 minutes.

India need to win all the remaining three matches on Sunday if the team has to make it to next year's Qualifiers.

It remains to be seen if captain Rohit Rajpal goes with Balaji and Ramkumar in the do-or-die doubles, or changes the combination.

Most likely, Balaji and Niki Poonacha will take the court.

Twice in Davis Cup history, India have managed to win a tie after being down 0-2. In 2010, India beat Brazil, and in 2018, it won against China after trailing 0-2.

Ramkumar could not charge to the net in the opening set as was the plan but did comparatively better in the second set. Bjorg served well, made fewer unforced errors and found some good passing winners when Ramkumar approached the net.