As Thomas Setodji was close to bringing himself on the scoreboard, up a game point on serve midway through the first set of his Davis Cup rubber against Ramkumar Ramanthan, a wry smile escaped his face as he let an attempted backhand slice drop just a few feet away from him.
It may have been a non-descript moment in the middle of a one-sided offensive. Still, it told the story of a day India comprehensively dominated, outclassing their significantly lower-ranked opposition that failed to be a resilient presence or threaten the hosts in any way. India left the tie on Saturday with a 2-0 lead and one foot in the World Group 1 phase of the tournament.
Setodji did end up getting on the scoreboard, but only just. On the slow-paced Centre Court of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) stadium, the kind of conditions where Ramanathan’s big-serving, serve-and-volley playing style does not always do well, he steamrolled the Togolese No. 1 6-0, 6-2 following Sasikumar Mukund’s 6-2, 6-1 victory over Liova Ajavon on a day when nearly 2,500 fans streamed in, and made themselves heard, to drive on the home team.
File image of Ramkumar Ramanthan during the Davis Cup 2022 World Group playoff match against Denmark. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
The Indians are one win away from going back to World Group 1, the phase they were knocked back down from by Sweden in an away tie last year.
“It was an excellent day for us today. This is the best team environment we could have had and that makes all the difference,” Mukund said, in a first press conference of the Indian Davis Cup team in a long time where spirits ran high.
Drama has followed the Indian team in the past few Davis Cup rounds as some of the top Indian players, including Mukund, have publicly vented their frustrations with the governing body, the All India Tennis Association (AITA). Following a court petition, the results of AITA’s recent elections are also on hold at the moment.
“The drama has always had nothing to do with tennis,” Mukund said. “It’s always about keeping the atmosphere good. It’s about keeping some people away from the players’ lounge which I think Rohit (Rajpal, India’s non-playing captain) did this time. I just did not see some faces that you normally see who try to do things that are not healthy for the team.”
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Back in 2023, Mukund’s Davis Cup debut had been a nightmare – after facing physical issues in the dry heat of Lucknow, he was forced to retire despite leading by a set to leave India in a 0-1 deficit against the lower-ranked Morocco in their World Group 2 tie.
No such lapses, physically or mentally, were to be found in his next tie, taking place 18 months and a disciplinary suspension later, as he stormed past Ajavonin straight sets in shortly over an hour.
The opening exchanges of their encounter set the tune of the match. Ajavon’s limited repertoire – including a single-handed backhand that could barely be a rally shot – was exposed by Mukund’s clean baseline game. But the Togolese had come up with a plan to disturb his rhythm, testing the 28-year-old World No. 365’s rally tolerance with his array of block returns and slices.
The strategy seemed to be effective as Mukund faced nerves early on – he even faced a break point in the long, testing third game of the first set – and the modest but boisterous Togolese support seemed to have something to cheer for.
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But the Indian’s clean hitting and superiority from the baseline simply overwhelmed Ajavon, who, after the game settled following the first half of the second set, simply could not cope, failing to hold serve after that. Mukund rolled to a confident, chanceless victory.
“I kept the plan very simple. I told Ram a day before that I’m keeping targets very clinical and I’m very happy that I stuck to it and played error-free tennis. I saw a lot more maturity in myself than before,” Mukund said.
In the following match, Ramanathan was equally clinical. Hitting 10 aces and overwhelming his opponent by attacking and moving into the baseline, he won 51 of the 73 points and bludgeoned any possible chances for an upset.
“An excellent serving day, which always helps. And I did not play defensive at all. Took some chances and attacked, on break points especially, and that allowed me to break through,” Ramanathan said after the easy win.
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On Sunday, Olympian N Sriram Balaji will team up with debutant Rithvik Bollipalli in the only doubles rubber to potentially seal the tie, after which youngster Karan Singh will hope to get his debut in the dead rubber.
