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‘Kiwis played absolutely unbelievable tennis’
‘That's how Davis Cup is. You never know’
Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni were done in by some ‘flawless’ tennis played by the Kiwi players according to India coach Zeeshan Ali but the team remains optimistic of winning the Davis Cup tie.
Davis Cup: Kiwis tame Bopanna-Myneni; India trail 1-2
Big serving Indians were humbled 3-6, 6-7(1), 3-6 by Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell, leaving Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri with an unenviable task of winning both the matches on Sunday.
Sitak is world No 43 and Daniell 66 in the individual doubles rankings.
"The Kiwis played absolutely unbelievable tennis," Zeeshan said.
"We had just two break points in the entire match. And twice love-30 on their serves, Apart from that they played flawless tennis," Zeeshan added.
Myneni praised Sitak and Daniell for their superb win.
"The New Zealand team played really well throughout the match today and really did not let us into the match. We had couple of close games but did not go our way. Hope we bounce back strong tomorrow," he said.
Despite the crushing defeat, which was first for the Indian Davis Cup team since April 2012, the Indian camp was quite hopeful of turning it around tomorrow.
‘We have another day to go and we can still win this’
Somdev faces Jose Statham while Yuki is set to clash with Michael Venus.
Yuki, who is the only winner so far in the Indian side, remarked, "That's how Davis Cup is. You never know. We have been the underdogs before and played well. This time it's New Zealand. But we have another day to go and we can still win this."
Zeeshan added," The boys are confident. Hopefully we can win both the matches tomorrow."
Asked about his match against clash against his Michael Venus, with whom he had reached the Australian Open men's doubles third round last year, Yuki expected a tough match.
"We have always had tough matches and it will be no different tomorrow but first Somdev has to win his match," he said adding that the "other team was solid today."
"They served well and played better."
‘I am giving myself chance to win’
Somdev said he will go all out against Statham to keep India alive.
"Obviously, it is going to be a big match for India tomorrow. Whether it was 2-1 or 1-2, I knew I am going to play a Live rubber on Sunday after Yuki won the match yesterday.
"It is going to be tough match for sure. I am doing everything as best as I can to prepare for tomorrow. I am going to fight hard and go all out there," country's top singles player at number 148 on ATP chart said.
Asked if he was feeling pressure to deliver as India's chances of remaining alive in the tie would hinge on the outcome of his match, Somdev replied in a negative.
"The pressure is always there when you step on the court to play for India. So, it's no different. I feel like, it's going to be a tough match and I am giving myself chance to win," he said.