06 March,2010 07:30 AM IST | | AFP
India were outclassed by two-time champions Russia on the opening day of their Davis Cup World Group first round clash yesterday.
Igor Kunitsyn battled from a set down to clinch a 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4 win in three hours 35 minutes over Somdev Devvarman, recording his third win over the 25-year-old Indian in as many meetings.
Mikhail Youzhny, currently 13th in the world, then won 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in just one hour 43 minutes against Rohan Bopanna on the hardcourts of Moscow's Luzhniki Small Sports arena.
"Of course I'm upset," said Devvarman. "Especially when you feel like you have a chance to put India 1-0 up."
"I had him where I wanted to and we both played a pretty good first set. Things started to go my way, but I wasn't able to close it out as I would have liked to."
Kunitsyn was delighted with his efforts after coming into the team as a late replacement for the injured Igor Andreev.
"It was really hard to win today," said Kunitsyn. "I won our two previous meetings with Somdev but also in very tough matches.
"I didn't think I would have to play today. I came here to support my teammates and found out that Igor injured his knee. It was really hard to get my head around playing today," the Russian said.u00a0
