Sumit Nagal saved home team the blushes with a commanding win after Sasikumar Mukund limped out of the opening singles in testing humid conditions as India and Morocco shared honours on the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group II tie here on Saturday.

Rain plays spoiltsport

A brief spell of rain before the match made the conditions challenging, and it came down to the fitness levels of the players. After being on court for three hours and five minutes, the 26-year-old Mukund conceded the battle between the debutants, soon after taking a medical timeout at 1-2 of the third set. Cramping badly and grimacing in pain, he retired when the score was 7-6 (4), 5-7, 1-4. The huge difference in the rankings notwithstanding—Mukund is 192 places above Dlimi at 365—it was far from an easy game for the Indian Placed 156 on the ATP singles chart, Nagal then expectedly brought the team back with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over Adam Moundir, ranked 779. While it was a dull and long contest in the opening singles, Nagal and Moundir played some gripping tennis.