India will face a stern test against Sweden in their own backyard in the Davis Cup World Group Tie 1. The tournament will run from February 2-November 25 this year, as 16 different countries fight it out for a title in the finals. Defending champions Italy will again be the firm favorites to again win the title.
The much awaited tie between India and Sweden will be played at Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm on September 14-15, 2024. Both the teams have squared off in 5 ties but the Asian team is yet to win a tie against the European team.
This tie will hold much importance as the loser will be relegated to World group 1 playoffs while the winner advancing to next year’s qualifiers. India will miss the services of their premier singles player Sumit Nagal and recently turned doubles specialist Yuki Bhambri but will still be fancying their chances to beat the Scandinavian side as they lack the flair and talent they once possessed.
Captain Rajpal picks Ramanathan and Balaji for singles rubber
In a surprising move, Indian non playing captain Rohit Rajpal picked only two Indian players to play five match of the tie. Ramkumar and Balaji will be playing the first two singles on day 1 of the competition while they will return next day to feature in the doubles and then the reverse singles.
Start time – Saturday 14th September at 05:30 PM (IST), Sunday 15th September at 04:30 PM (IST)
India squad: Ramkumar Ramanathan, Siddharth Vishwakarma, Aryan Shah, Nikki K Poonacha, N Sriram Balaji
Non Playing Captain: Rohit Rajpal
Sweden squad: Elias Ymer, Leo Borg, Adam Heinonen, Andre Goransson, Filip Bergevi
Non Playing Captain: Simon Aspelin
Streaming and where to watch: Tennis lovers can watch the action unfold on Sony Sports network and Sonyliv mobile application and website.
Schedule
Sriram Balaji vs Elias Ymer- Day 1 singles
Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Leo Borg- day 1 singles
Sriram Balaji/Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Filip Bergevi/Andre Goransson- day 2 doubles
Ramkumar Ramanathan vs Elias Ymer- Day 2 singles
Sriram Balaji vs Leo Borg- day 2 singles
