India’s doubles pair of N Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli suffered a narrow defeat against Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group I tie in Biel on Saturday. The duo lost 7-6(3), 4-6, 5-7 to Jakub Paul and Dominic Stricker in a contest that lasted two hours and 26 minutes.
Despite the setback, India still lead the tie 2-1 after singles wins by Dhakshineshwar Suresh and Sumit Nagal on Friday. India now require just one victory from the two remaining reverse singles to clinch the tie. Nagal will face Jerome Kym in the first of those matches.
Balaji and Bollipalli had taken the opening set via a tie-breaker, but the Swiss duo rallied to level the match and eventually closed out the decider. The loss extends India’s long wait for an away win over a European side, the last one coming back in 1993 against France