India secured a historic spot in the Davis Cup Qualifiers after Sumit Nagal defeated young Henry Bernet in the first reverse singles, leading to a 3-1 victory over Switzerland in the World Group I tie on Saturday.The day began with N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli suffering a close defeat in the doubles rubber against Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker, with scores of 7-6 (3) 4-6 5-7 in a match lasting two hours and 26 minutes.The Swiss team made a strategic change by fielding junior Australian Open champion Bernet instead of Jerome Kym for the crucial fourth rubber against Nagal, which the Indian won convincingly with scores of 6-1 6-3.India entered the day with a 2-0 lead following impressive singles victories by Nagal and newcomer Dhakshineshwar Suresh on Friday.This victory marks India’s first triumph over a European team in an away tie since their win against France in the 1993 quarterfinals, led by Leander Paes and Ramesh Krishnan.
India’s previous European success came against Denmark in a home tie played on grass courts in Delhi in 2022.The first round of Davis Cup Qualifiers is scheduled for January 2026.Bernet’s aggressive playing style resulted in numerous unforced errors, which worked in favor of the Indian player.“It means a lot. It’s been a while that we won in Europe. We worked very hard to be here. We pushed each other, I am very happy with the win,” said Nagal.“Doubles was tough, the level of tennis was very high from both teams. I was sweating more on the sidelines than playing this match. The young ones are always tricky, you don’t know what’s coming your way.”This was Nagal’s return to Davis Cup competition since his last appearance against Morocco in September 2023, and his presence proved influential.The victory represents captain Rohit Rajpal’s first significant achievement since taking over from Mahesh Bhupathi in 2019, particularly notable for being won on foreign soil.The 18-year-old Bernet started slowly, losing his serve in the opening game, but later showed promise with his single-handed backhand producing impressive corner winners.Nagal gained a crucial break point when Bernet failed to execute a half volley at 30-all while approaching the net, giving the Indian player a 4-1 advantage.The first set concluded with Bernet committing a double fault on set point, which came after a forehand error.Nagal maintained his momentum in the second set, securing an early break and maintaining the advantage until victory was sealed with Bernet’s return going long.In the earlier doubles match, both Balaji and Stricker demonstrated excellent serving skills initially, holding their serves without dropping points.The Indians challenged Paul’s serve but the Swiss player managed to hold after reaching deuce.The Indian pair earned three break points on Stricker’s serve in the sixth game, converting the third opportunity when Stricker hit the net following an extended baseline rally with Balaji.The Swiss team recovered by breaking back when serving for the first set, capitalizing on Balaji’s forehand return error at 30-all.The tiebreaker remained close at 3-3 before Paul’s consecutive errors gave India the advantage.The second set remained competitive with both teams level at 4-4 after navigating through challenging moments.Despite having opportunities, including a crucial break point chance at 30-all in the ninth game, Balaji couldn’t capitalize on them.The teams engaged in an intense six-deuce game, which Paul eventually won when Balaji’s return went long.Bollipalli lost his serve in the following game, leveling the match at one set each.An early break put India in a favorable position, but Bollipalli faced pressure and needed three aces on deuce points to hold serve.Stricker earned a break back opportunity with a service return winner on Balaji’s serve, which was converted following a double fault.The match concluded when Bollipalli, serving to stay in contention, started with a double fault and backhand error, followed by Paul’s forehand winner setting up three match points, with victory secured on Bollipalli’s netted return.
