February 27, 2020 – The Davis Cup match between the Croatia tennis team and India will be held in the small hall of Dom Sportova in Zagreb from March 6-7. At a presentation at the Westin Hotel in Zagreb, the organizing committee confirmed that all preparations were in full swing and once again urged fans not to miss the opportunity to cheer on Croatian tennis stars at home.
HRT reports that the Croatia tennis team will meet the national team of India in Hall 2 of Dom Sportova from March 6-7, 2020. The winner will secure a spot at the Davis Cup finals in Madrid in November.
“The stakes are really high and India needs to be taken seriously, especially since they are coming with the strongest squad possible. We are not complete, we will wait for Coric until the draw on Thursday, March 4, but I think that without him we have enough strength to, with the support of our fans, record the win,” said national team coach Vedran Martic at a news conference in Zagreb ahead of the Croatia-India Davis Cup series.
Borna Coric sustained a hand injury in Rio de Janeiro, but since it is not a serious injury, we will wait until the last minute, Martic added.
Marin Cilic (ATP – 36), Borna Gojo (ATP – 276), Nino Serdarusic (ATP – 295) and two doubles specialists Ivan Dodig (ATP – 10) and Mate Pavic (ATP – 16) will play for the Croatia national team.
India national team coach Rohit Rajpal is bringing the strongest possible lineup for the qualifiers against Croatia in Zagreb, in which the highest-ranked player in the individual competition is 22-year-old Sumit Nagal (ATP – 127), and a strong veteran doubles team will consist of 39-year-old Rohan Bopanna and 46-year-old legend Leander Paes.
In addition, 30-year-old Prajnesh Gunneswaran (ATP – 127) and 25-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan (ATP – 180) will compete in the individual matches.
“India will base their tactics on two wins against our other player, be it Gojo or Serdarusic, and they have a great and experienced doubles team of Bopanna-Paes if they play. But we also have a great doubles team, Pavic-Dodig, and I believe that Gojo and Serdarusic have a chance to record at least one win. Cilic is in good form, although he lost in Dubai. The good thing is that we also have seven days of training and getting used to the grounds,” Martic said.
The match will be played on a hard court in the Small Hall of Zagreb’s Dom Sportova. On the first day, Saturday, March 6, there are two singles matches scheduled, and on Sunday, the doubles will be played first, followed by the singles.
“I am glad that the Davis Cup is back in Croatia again, and this is an opportunity for Croatian fans to finally see our best tennis players. I expect a win and a good atmosphere,” said Croatian Tennis Federation (HTS) President Nikolina Babic.
The match between Croatian and India in Zagreb will be one of twelve qualifying rounds, and the winners will join last year’s semifinalists Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia, as well as the national teams that received the invitation, Serbia and France.
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