Davis Cup captain S P Misra says he did not expect India would be trailing 0-2 at the end of the opening day in their World Group play-off tie against Japan, on Friday.
India's biggest hope Somdev Devvarman suffered a surprise straight-set defeat to Yuichi Sugita, and then Rohan Bopanna met the same fate at the hands of Kei Nishikori.
"We had a tough day today. The Japanese boys played very well and deserved to win. We didn't foresee being down 0-2. (Somdev) Devvarman's injury was clearly bothering him. He just could not hit the ball well," Misra said.
India's non-playing captain, though, did not want to sound pessimist.
"Being down 2-0 is a tough position for us. We will have to take it one match at a time from now, starting with the doubles," Misra said.
Bopanna praised Nishikori.
"He is playing at a high level. He is really quick. I think he is playing like a top-30 player. He was fantastic," Bopanna said.
Nishikori felt that Sugita's upset win over Somdev helped him play without any pressure.
"Sugita's victory took a lot of pressure off me. I returned well today, especially on his second serve. I knew I could beat him if I played my game," he said.
"My win makes it 2-0 and puts us very close to what we are striving for," he added.
