India’s best chance to get maiden win over Sweden in Davis Cup

India's Davis Cup team faces Sweden without top players, still optimistic for a historic win in World Group I.

India's top players might be missing from the line-up but the country's Davis Cup team would still fancy its chances for a maiden victory against Sweden when it clashes with the host in the World Group I contest, starting September 14.

India has not beaten Sweden in Davis Cup history and has landed in Stockholm without its best singles and doubles players — Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri — for contrasting reasons.

Yet, the side would back itself to buck the trend in the sixth attempt, considering that the Swedish line-up is not intimidating.

The home conditions with the medium-speed court on offer, though, would certainly help Sweden more in the indoor tie at the Royal Tennis Hall as India would have preferred a faster court, given the fact that it has big servers.

The indoor courts are usually fast, the ball travels quick since the outside factors like wind do not interfere much in the play.

Ramkumar Ramanathan holds the key on the opening day even as the side is still weighing options for the second singles. The choice has to be between Niki Poonacha and N Sriram Balaji.

Former national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma is an exciting option but he may not get the nod to play a live rubber in a high-stakes tie as he is still raw and needs to be polished for this level.