Sumit Nagal Will Open Against Guy Den Ouden

BENGALURU: The question put to the men on the dais was about the pressures of playing a home tie.Sumit Nagal leaned forward in his seat, took the microphone in hand. The ball was plum on his racket.

“I had to play a match in the Olympics, where I had five people cheering for me against 7000 French fans,” the 28-year-old said of his match against Corentin Moutet in Paris two summers ago. “If you’re out there for three-four hours, it makes a huge difference. We are hoping that the Netherlands team goes through the same thing tomorrow.”Nagal’s swag lit up the home team’s press conference ahead of the India-Netherlands Davis Cup qualifiers, which kick off at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium on Saturday.This is the fifth meeting between the two teams, which first faced each other more than a century ago in 1924.The last time they clashed was in 2003, and the head-to-head stands locked at 2-2. Nagal, India’s No. 1, currently ranked 281, will open proceedings against 23-year-old Guy Den Ouden, ranked 162.Dhakshineswar Suresh, the 25-year-old who plays on the US collegiate circuit and made his Davis Cup debut last year, will take on Dutch No.

1 Jesper de Jong, ranked 88 in the world.Yuki Bhambri, ranked 20 in the world in the individual doubles rankings, will partner Sriram Balaji, a late replacement for Rithvik Bollipalli, in the pivotal doubles rubber to be played on Sunday. Bhambri and Balaji will face David Pel and Sander Arends. In the reverse singles, Nagal is slated to play De Jong, while Suresh, ranked 465, goes up against Den Ouden. The Draw: (Saturday): Sumit Nagal vs Guy Den Ouden; Dhakshineswar Suresh vs Jesper de Jong. (Sunday): Yuki Bhambri/N Sriram Balaji vs Sandre Arends/David Pel; Nagal vs de Jong; Suresh vs Ouden