India No. 1 Nagal falls as South Korea take 2-0 lead in Davis Cup tie

Davis Cup 2026: India trail Korea 0-2 after Nagal, Suresh suffer singles defeats

Sumit Nagal had just won a point with a lunging forehand retrieve to make it 5-5, 40-40 in the decider against South Korea’s former world No. 19 Hyeon Chung when a phone rang.It was Nagal’s. The player quickly trundled to his bag at courtside, took out the phone and handed it to one of his teammates before returning to position.

Those few seconds might have been a welcome relief from the tension gripping the Olympic Tennis Centre in Seoul, but the 30-year-old Chung maintained his focus.The Suwon native won the next two points and then broke Nagal for the second time in the set to seal a hard-fought 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory in three hours and five minutes, giving the hosts a handy 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup Qualifier second-round tie on Friday.Chung’s teammate and former world No. 52 Soon-woo Kwon had earlier mounted a fightback of his own to beat Dhakshineswar Suresh 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening singles. The doubles rubber on Saturday will now be crucial. Nagal will also have less time to recover before taking on Kwon in the first reverse singles. The winner of the tie will advance to the World Group Finals in Bologna, Italy, in Nov.Suresh was defeated in two hours and five minutes.