Norway defeat India in must-win game, win 3-0 in Davis Cup 2022

After a poor start to the Davis Cup 2022 campaign, it was up to the doubles pair of Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni to win the must-win encounter of India and stay alive in the tie against Norway. The Indian pair have together this year won five Challenger trophies in a space of five months. Saketh Myneni has six Challenger doubles win partnering with Ramkumar Ramanathan at the Bengaluru Open in February since then has constantly paired up with Yuki Bhambri.

The pair take up the roles pretty well with Saketh looking after the near side of the court and Yuki covering the baseline most times which has worked out often. Playing in Norway was not an easy task considering the conditions as the pair have not played together indoors before.

On the other hand, Casper Ruud and Durasovic have not played doubles together before with both primarily concentrating on singles.

Yuki Bhambri/Saketh Myneni vs Casper Ruud/Viktor Durasovic (3-6, 6-3, 3-6)

Like Day 1, the Indians did not start well losing the first set losing tamely 3-6. The feeling is that it is taking time for Indians to get used to the conditions of the newly laid indoor court which they haven't played before. The Indian pair were finding it hard to even convert the return volleys at the net.

The Indian pair came back stronger in the second set with good serves and conversion rates. Saketh Myneni in particular stood rock solid at the net converting all the volleys which he failed in the first set. The strategy of playing Yuki at the baseline worked and they claimed the second set easily.

The Norwegian pair broke the Indian serve at the beginning of the third set putting the opposition under pressure. The pair from India couldn't exert any pressure on the inexperienced opposition from Norway losing the Davis Cup 2022 tie.