Hyeon Chung fought back from a set down to defeat India’s Sumit Nagal 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a gruelling Davis Cup qualifier in Seoul on Friday, putting South Korea within one win of securing the tie.
Nagal made an impressive start against the former world No. 19, racing through the opening set 6-2. The Indian, however, was unable to maintain his advantage as Chung gradually found a way back into the contest. Chung levelled the match by taking the second set 6-4 before edging a tense deciding set 7-5. The match lasted more than three hours.
Chung, who reached a career-high No. 19 in the ATP rankings in 2018 and also reached the Australian Open semifinals that year, said the turning point came after he dropped serve at 3-3 in the second set.
“When I was broken at 3-3 in the second set and fell behind 3-4, I actually felt more relaxed. I thought my opponent might feel the pressure of wanting to close out the match. I kept believing that I would get at least one opportunity and that, if I could take it, the momentum might shift again.”
That opportunity came quickly. Chung broke back and went on to take the second set, setting up a deciding set in which neither player was willing to give ground.
The final set became a physical and mental battle, with both players having spent more than three hours on court by its closing stages. Chung eventually held his nerve to close out the match 7-5.
“At 5-5 in the third set, there was no real strategy left. We had both been playing for more than three hours, so it became a battle of mental strength,” Chung said. “I felt that whoever could endure longer would win. I just kept fighting and held on.”
The Korean also raised an issue involving the pace at which play resumed during the match. Chung said he felt Nagal was waiting for the crowd to become completely silent before continuing, but chose not to complain.
“I felt that Nagal was deliberately waiting until the crowd was completely silent before continuing. However, I chose not to complain because I thought that would create the situation he wanted. I simply ignored it and continued playing.”
Chung’s comeback completed a similar pattern to the opening rubber, where India’s Dhakshineswar Suresh also won the first set before losing to Soonwoo Kwon. Kwon recovered to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, leaving India 0-2 down after the opening day.
India now face a must-win situation in the remaining three rubbers on Saturday. The team would need to win all three to overturn the 0-2 deficit and progress from the Davis Cup Qualifiers. India have previously come back from 0-2 down against Brazil in 2010 and China in 2018.