“Great opportunity to groom the next generation of Davis Cup players” - Rohit Rajpal before India’s tie against Togo

Indian captain Rohit Rajpal has said that playing the Davis Cup on home soil will help nurture future Indian stars. India will face Togo in the upcoming World Group 1 play-off tie, which will be held in New Delhi on February 1 and 2. Sasikumar Mukund, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Karan Singh, N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli are a part of the Indian squad.

Among them, Bollipalli and Balaji recently played in the Australian Open men’s doubles. While Bollipalli crashed out in the first round on his Grand Slam debut, Balaji exited in the second round. For the upcoming clash, Sumit Nagal had made himself unavailable and Rajpal said that had they known earlier about his unavailability, they might have chosen grass.

“Playing in home conditions is always an advantage. We have traveled extensively over the past two or three seasons. While the slow hard courts at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) are ideal, especially if Sumit Nagal had been available, the conditions will still work in our favor. Perhaps we would have opted for grass courts had we known earlier about Sumit’s unavailability,” Rajpal told PTI.

“I won’t call it a cakewalk, but this tie is a great opportunity to groom the next generation of Davis Cup players. Playing at home allows us to maximise the home advantage and the support of the fans,” Rajpal added.

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Tough challenge ahead for India in Davis Cup

Togo, captained by Thomas Setodji, have had an impressive run in the lead-up to the Davis Cup tie against India. They have beaten formidable opponents like Indonesia, Latvia, and Benin.

Mukund, India’s highest-ranked player in the squad (World No. 367) has returned after the tie against Morocco back in September 2023. In Rohan Bopanna’s last appearance in Davis Cups, India beat Morocco 4-1 in the World Group II tie.

Last year in September, India slumped to a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Sweden in the World Group I tie at the Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm.