Davis Cup 2026: India trail Korea 0-2 after Nagal, Suresh suffer singles defeats
Sumit Nagal had just won a point with a lunging forehand retrieve to make it 5-5, 40-40 in the decider against South Korea’s former world No. 19 Hyeon Chung when a phone rang. The Suwon native won the next two points and then broke Nagal for the second time in the set to seal a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory in three hours and five minutes, giving the hosts a handy 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup Qualifier second-round tie on Friday. 52 Soon-woo Kwon had earlier mounted a fightback of his own to beat Dhakshineswar Suresh 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening singles.
Chung’s teammate and former world No. Nagal will also have less time to recover before taking on Kwon in the first reverse singles. The winner of the tie will advance to the World Group Finals in Bologna, Italy, in Nov. Suresh was defeated in two hours and five minutes. Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
The doubles rubber on Saturday will now be crucial.
Those few seconds might have been a welcome relief from the tension gripping the Olympic Tennis Centre in Seoul, but the 30-year-old Chung maintained his focus. It was Nagal’s. The player quickly trundled to his bag at courtside, took out the phone and handed it to one of his teammates before returning to position.