New Delhi, Feb 2: Hosts India, backed by a passionate home crowd and a superior lineup, cruised past Togo 4-0 to secure a place in the Davis Cup 2025 World Group I Playoffs at the DLTA Complex on Sunday.

With the tie already decided in India’s favour, the fifth and final match was not played.

Having taken a commanding 2-0 lead on the opening day—thanks to emphatic victories by Mukund Sasikumar and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles rubbers—India needed just one more win on Sunday to seal their spot in World Group I, set to take place in September 2025.

N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli delivered that decisive win with clinical precision, defeating Hod’abalo Isak Padio and M’lapa Tingou Akomlo 6-2, 6-1 in the doubles rubber, ensuring India’s triumph.

With an electrifying atmosphere at the DLTA Complex, Balaji and Rithvik fed off the energy of the home crowd. They seized the initiative early, breaking their opponents' serve in the fourth game of the first set before closing it out with another break in the eighth.

The second set was even more one-sided, as the Togolese pair struggled to hold serve, conceding breaks in the fourth and sixth games to hand India a dominant victory.

India’s non-playing captain, Rohit Rajpal, was thrilled with his team’s commanding performance and emphasized how this win bodes well for the future of Indian tennis.

“I think the purpose here was to also get a few youngsters in the fold and get them on the bench and get them conditioned to Davis Cup pressures so that we start developing some good Davis Cuppers. They do well in any case on the Tour but like I said, it is a different ball game when you play in front of the home crowd. There are so many people expecting you to win and that brings different kinds of pressure,” Rajpal said.

Historically, India has relied heavily on its doubles teams in Davis Cup ties, with legends like Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, and Rohan Bopanna playing crucial roles over the years.

Rajpal lauded Balaji and Rithvik for showcasing the growing depth in India’s doubles ranks. “Doubles was easy but there is a lot of expectations from the doubles players and I am extremely happy with the way Bala (Balaji) and Rithvik came all guns firing… Very very fantastic match today and I am hoping to build this team for the future which is able to take on the best in the world,” he added.

With the tie already secured, India fielded Karan Singh for the first reverse singles match against Padio. The 21-year-old started strong, breaking his opponent’s serve in the second game before comfortably closing out the first set.

Karan looked set for a routine victory as he raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set with a double break. However, he momentarily lost momentum, dropping a service game, before regaining control to wrap up the match 6-2, 6-3.

(IANS)

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