Davis Cup: ‘He was better than me’: Nagal admits Korea’s edge as India trail 0-2

India’s hopes of reaching the Davis Cup Finals knockout stage were pushed to the brink after Sumit Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh lost their singles rubbers against Korea in Seoul on Friday.

Soonwoo Kwon recovered from a set down to beat Davis Cup debutant Dhakshineswar 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 before Hyeon Chung defeated Nagal 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a three-hour battle.

Nagal had chances, particularly in the second set, but could not convert them. The Indian felt the match ultimately came down to fine margins.

“I had chances in the second set. I didn't close it down. I went for it, missed it, and then from there the match pretty much changed,” Nagal said.

“The third set was pretty much a dogfight... In the end, I guess he was better than me. That's it.”

The Indian also felt the court conditions favoured Chung’s defensive game, describing them as a little “dead” with low bounce.

“It’s not easy to hurt if somebody is very good at defence, and I felt like Chung played pretty good defence,” Nagal said.

He believed one missed forehand could have changed the outcome.

“I feel like if I don't miss that forehand, it could be another set or match,” he said. “It was maybe a difference of two points.”

Chung, who is working his way back after a series of injuries, said he drew energy from the home crowd and his coaches.

“I had to make sure that the fans watch what they wanted to watch,” Chung said. “After three hours, whoever was mentally strong, won.”

Earlier, Kwon admitted he was nervous at the start against Dhakshineswar but adjusted to the Indian’s game.

“I was very nervous in the opening set, so I made errors. But in the second set I figured out his service pattern,” Kwon said.

Dhakshineswar acknowledged he had rushed at important moments.

“I realised that probably I was rushing a bit much. I will try not to repeat my mistakes in tomorrow’s match,” he said.

India now need to win all three remaining matches on Saturday. N Sriram Balaji and Niki Poonacha will have to win the doubles rubber first to keep the tie alive.

“We still have a chance until it's over,” Nagal said. “First focus is going to be doubles, and then from there we take it on.”

(With inputs from PTI)