Sweden was ruthless in racing to a 4-0 victory over India, without dropping a set in the Davis Cup World Group I tie on indoor hard courts of the Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm on Sunday.
After failing to make an impact in the first two singles on the opening day, Sriram Balaji and Ramkumar Ramanathan were unable to wield their customary craft in doubles that well and were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by Andre Goransson and Filip Bergevi.
The tie was lost in the three rubbers itself, but the fourth rubber was played as part of the routine in the Davis Cup, mainly for the fans of the home team.
In the event, the reigning national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma was fielded for the dead rubber, and the Swedish No.1, the 238th ranked Elias Ymer proved too strong in racing to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in about 50 minutes.
It was far too much to expect the 29-year-old left-hander, Siddharth, ranked 588 to make an impact on a player, a regular in the Challenger circuit, who was ranked a career-best 105.
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In the absence of the country’s No.1 player, the 73rd-ranked Sumit Nagal, who opted to skip the tie to nurse a back strain, it was hard for the team to match wits against Sweden in its home territory.
India will play the World Group play-off, while Sweden will compete in the Qualifiers.
Historically, India had a mountain to climb, as Sweden had won all the previous five ties between the two countries. In fact, India had managed to win only two rubbers in all, one featuring Vijay Amritraj, and the other, the doubles duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
Ironically, when Sweden had looked vulnerable and beatable, India was unable to put together a strong team to capitalise on the situation.
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