Doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan rallied from one set down to beat Italians Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli 2-1 and keep Indian hopes alive in their Davis Cup Qualifier at Calcutta South Club, Kolkata on Saturday.
Doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan rallied from one set down to beat Italians Matteo Berrettini and Simone Bolelli 2-1 and keep Indian hopes alive in their Davis Cup Qualifier at Calcutta South Club, Kolkata on Saturday.
After losing the first set 4-6, the Indian pair won the next two 6-3, 6-4 in one hours and 43 minutes. India now trail Italy 1-2 after the visitors won both the singles matches.
India's gamble of playing on grass seemed to have back-fired as Italy lived up to their reputation to win both the singles on Day 1.
Andreas Seppi experienced some early hiccups before getting past Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4 6-2 in the opening singles, while 22-year-old Matteo Berrettini made a winning Davis Cup debut, cruising past India number one Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6-4 6-3.
With 0-2 down, Indian pair needed to win the match. And living up to their reputation, Bopanna and Sharan beat Bolelli and Berrettini in the must-win match.
Later in the day, Ramanathan will play Berrettini while Gunneswaran faces Seppi in the reverse singles.