Ramkumar Ramanathan fetched the crucial win but Yuki Bhambri made the day memorable even in defeat as India and Canada shared the honours on Day One of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie here on Friday
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan returns to Canada's Brayden Schnur during a Davis Cup tennis match in Edmonton, Alberta, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017. Pic/AP/PTI
Ramkumar Ramanathan fetched the crucial win but Yuki Bhambri made the day memorable even in defeat as India and Canada shared the honours on Day One of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie here on Friday. Yuki turned the match on its head after being down by two sets and a match point in the third set but eventually lost 6-7(2) 4-6 7-6 (6) 6-4 1-6 to World No.51 Denis Shapovalov during an audacious performance in three hours and 52 minutes.
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It happened after 22-year-old Ramkumar, ranked 154th, tamed debutant Brayden Schnur 5-7 7-6(4) 7-5 7-5 in the first singles, which was also a marathon match lasting three hours and 16 minutes.
"The boys played with a lot of heart. The plan was to fight regardless of the score and Ram swung a losing battle and Yuki almost did too," Indian captain Mahesh Bhupathi told PTI. "The pressure remains on them. If we fight like this anything is possible."
This defeat would rankle Yuki for sometime as Shapovalov had started feeling the heat following the Indian's perseverance.
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