Rohan Bopanna wins singles, Lim averts India clean sweep

Rohan Bopanna en route to his 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over South Korea’s Hong Chung in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I reverse singles match in Chandigarh. (Photo: AFP )

Not used to playing singles anymore, Rohan Bopanna found rhythm in the nick of time to edge past Hong Chung before Yong-Kyu Lim prevented a Korean whitewash with a gritty win over Ramkumar Ramanathan in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie here on Sunday.

Asked to take the court in place of Saketh Myneni, who is still recovering from Friday’s gruelling match, Bopanna laboured to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Chung, ranked as low as 655 in the ATP rankings.

Bopanna last played a singles match in the Davis Cup in 2012 when he won the dead fifth rubber against Uzbekistan’s Sarvar Ikramov. It was Bopanna’s 10th singles win in Davis Cup on Sunday and it was a dead rubber since India had sealed tie on Saturday itself by wining the doubles. Playing the fifth rubber, the 217-ranked Ramkumar went down fighting to 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(2) to Lim, placed 409 rungs below the Indian.