The person whose identify means ‘God of the South’ was revealed to be India’s miracle employee on the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru final weekend. Dakshineswar Suresh impressed the Indian crew to a surprising 3-2 win in opposition to Netherlands within the Davis Cup 2026 Qualifier 1.
By the point the 25-year-old collapsed on the court docket and was mauled by your complete Indian crew, Dakshineswar (or “DK” as he likes to be referred to as) had been concerned in all three factors that gave India the win, together with two singles wins and a tie with marathon doubles associate Yuki Bhambri that gave India a 2-1 lead early on Sunday night.
India wanted a hero and Dakshineswar, ATP ranked 470, stepped up in his second Davis Cup look. Even when it was a misleading rating (DK would not play on the tour, solely on the faculty circuit, and is No. 1 in doubles and No. 3 in singles within the NCAA), it did not diminish the magnitude of his accomplishment.
It was the primary time since Leander Paes performed in opposition to Japan in 2004 that we noticed an Indian participant play three matches in a Davis Cup tie and win all three matches. Dakshineswar, who’s 6 toes 6 inches tall, had an enormous serve that rocked the Dutch all through the tie. Within the closing singles match in opposition to Gai den Ouden, Dakshineswar hit 15 aces and gained in straight units. India defeated South Korea away from dwelling in preparation for the eight-team Davis Cup closing match to be held in Italy on the finish of the 12 months.
India beat Netherlands 3-2 at dwelling to attain historic victory in an epic encounter ������
Dakshineswar Suresh defeated Man Auden 6-4, 7-6(4) to assist his nation advance to the second spherical of qualifying.#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/8f5hhZ4KlD
– Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 8, 2026
“He cannot see the ball,” Indians followers sang all through the fifth sport, mocking Den Orden who could not discover an efficient response to Dakshineswar’s serve. They could not simply be exaggerating with poetic license. Simply as world No. 88 Jesper de Jong had discovered the night time earlier than, Den Orden had no thought what had hit him. Maybe the 2 highest-ranked Dutch singles gamers, Talon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandsschulp, might have completed higher, however the Dutch crew thought they’d sufficient to beat India within the second tier. They quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“He offers us a way of loss of life,” Bhambri stated of Dakshineswar’s serve. Bhambri performed a useful supporting position within the doubles tie-break and India gained the third set tie-break, with India gaining the higher hand because of Bhambri’s highly effective groundstrokes. The mortals, as Bhambri and his teammates referred to as themselves, responded by carrying Dakshineswar throughout the court docket. The Bengaluru crowd, who now welcomed the large man as certainly one of their very own, serenaded him with hymns earlier than Sumit Nagal grabbed the stadium announcer’s microphone and shouted, “DK Suresh, what a legend, what a participant!” Happiness knew no bounds within the Indian camp.
It was a giant choice taken by captain Rohit Rajpal in the beginning of the second day, when Sriram Balaji was initially named as his associate Bhambri for the doubles match, Dakshineswar was chosen in his place. “It wasn’t a random choice,” Bamburi stated after the win. The Indian crew had anticipated a scenario by which Dakshineswar must play within the doubles, and had been practising with Bhambri in preparation for the match in Bangalore. The high-speed courts on the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium suited his type. India had an ace, each literal and figurative, and so they needed him to be on the court docket as a lot as potential in the course of the tie.
This act of help from Bamburi was all Dakshineswar bought on court docket all weekend. After all, the stands have been fairly full and everybody was blissful for his or her crew to win at each level.
After making his Davis Cup debut within the closing spherical in opposition to Switzerland and main India to this stage, it was time for Dakshineswar to step again into the highlight.
He was compelled to take action as a result of he was primary in singles in India. 1 Sumit Nagal, who was affected by a hip damage, misplaced each his singles matches to Den Ouden on Saturday after which to De Jong on Sunday, each to attracts. Each gamers have been sturdy three-setters, however Nagal did not do his greatest and left every thing to Dakshineswar.
So he did every thing. Dakshineswar first saved India alive in opposition to the world primary. 88 Jesper de Jong, who delivered a relaxed and picked up efficiency to win in straight units 6-4, 7-5, profitable in type. Then got here the hardest a part of the match, enjoying two video games in in the future. This was a tough query. Now think about this. You play a three-hour doubles match, take a three-hour break, after which need to return to the court docket for a winner-take-all singles match. Dakshineswar stated his solely objective is to win in opposition to India with a draw.
And he did. Three matches have been performed. We gained 3 video games. All through these three matches, he continued to serve with out interruption. Over the course of a weekend, Dakshineswar Suresh grew to become the brand new toast of Indian tennis. He did all of it on his personal, with a bit assist from Yuki Bamburi alongside the best way and a raucous dwelling crowd that at occasions bordered on a mob.
In southern India, the “gods of the south” gave this necktie a divine contact.
