Bopanna wins farewell tie, India advance to World Group I play-offs

Rohan Bopanna brought the curtains down on his Davis Cup career with a comfortable straight sets win alongside Yuki Bhambri before Sumit Nagal won his reverse singles as India advanced to the World Group I playoffs with a 41 triumph against Morocco here on SundayAs one of the most powerful servers of the game makes the exit the next generation players will have to up their game Bopanna will continue playing on the ATP TourAsked why he has decided to quit Davis Cup when he will still be active on Pro Tour Bopanna justified his decisionldquoThe number one thing is that there is another Indian who takes my spot On the tour thatrsquos not going to happenrdquo Bopanna told PTIldquoAnd over the years a week off here and there before big events has made that difference So if I stop Davis Cup and get those two weeks off it makes such a big difference in terms of how my body is feeling and everythingAlso Read Rohan Bopannarsquos experience is invaluable Rohit RajpalDaughter one of the reasonsldquoAnd one of the major reasons also is that we have a daughter whorsquos four years old I would like to spend time also at home It has been a fantastic journey everything has to come to an endrdquo he addedThe 43yearold Bopanna coming out to play his 33rd and final tie and Bhambri raced to a 62 61 win over Elliot Benchetrit and Younes Lalami Laaroussi in one hour and 11 minutes at the Mini StadiumIndiarsquos No 1 singles player Sumit Nagal outgunned Yassine Dlimi 63 63 in the first reverse singles to seal the World Group II tie It is only the second time that Nagal has won both his singles matches in a Davis Cup tie He had got a similar result under his belt while playing against Pakistan in Kazakhstan in 2019Rookie Digvijay Pratap Singh who ended runnerup at the Fenesta Nationals last year won the inconsequential fifth rubber against Walid Ahouda 61 57 106 on his debutMorocoo won only one rubber in the tie when Sasikumar Mukund conceded the opening singles against Dlimi due to crampsAn emotional Bopanna rested his Indiashirt on the court marking the end of his Davis Cup career in which he played 50 matches in 33 ties winning 23 rubbers including 13 in doublesWatched by his family and friends Bopanna who made his Davis Cup debut in 2002 acknowledged the fans appreciation and blew kisses towards the spectators stands50 close ones for supportAbout 50 of Bopannarsquos family and friends flew to Lucknow to watch the Coorg player in action one last time in Davis Cup They were wearing Tshirts that had a tricolourwaving Bopanna picture printedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever