Sumit Nagal held serve in the first game of the fourth rubber on Saturday and then did not win another game until the second set. Kwon Soon-woo took six in a row, broke Nagal three times and won the set 6-1. In the second he broke in the sixth and eighth games, won 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes, and put South Korea into the Davis Cup Final 8 for the first time. The tie on center court at Seoul’s Olympic Park finished 3-1.
It was hot, and Nagal never found a rhythm in it, the Press Trust of India reported. Korea’s Star News wrote that Kwon used his backhand to push Nagal back behind the baseline. Kwon is ranked 157th and Nagal 247th. India had made Kwon’s match necessary. Trailing 0-2 overnight, Dhakshineswar Suresh and N Sriram Balaji beat Nam Ji-sung and Park Ui-sung 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the doubles, breaking in the eighth game of the third set and serving it out. A Nagal win would have levelled the tie at 2-2 and sent it to a fifth rubber.
Korea built their lead on Friday, when both singles players came from a set down. Kwon beat Suresh 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Chung Hyeon then beat Nagal 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted more than three hours. Chung reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2018. “I am grateful to the fans who came here yesterday and today to cheer for us,” Kwon said afterwards, according to Star News.
He did not accept that his team would be making up the numbers in Bologna. “In the quarterfinals, South Korea might be seen as the weakest team,” he said. “The Republic of Korea is not weak. We will prove it with results.” He also said he did not think his best years had arrived yet.
What it means. Korea first played the Davis Cup in 1960 and had never reached the last eight. They are the first Asian nation to reach the quarterfinals since the Final 8 was introduced in 2022, a distinction the Associated Press and Tennis TourTalk both flagged before the tie. India had been chasing it too. The Final 8 is played in Bologna from 24 to 29 November, with host and three-time defending champion Italy already qualified.
Korea’s route was built at home. Last September they beat Kazakhstan in World Group I. In February in Busan they came from 1-2 down to beat 2016 champion Argentina 3-2. Kwon, who was still completing his military service, won the reverse singles against Thiago Agustin Tirante, and Chung beat Marco Trungelliti in the deciding rubber. “They cheered so loudly,” Kwon said then. “It really helped me stay focussed.”
India. For India this was a first appearance in the second round of Qualifiers since the current format began in 2019. They reached it in February with a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in Bengaluru, with Suresh winning both his singles and the doubles. They now return to the first round of Qualifiers in 2027.
The rest of the round. The other six ties were still being played when Korea finished. Canada led France 2-0 in Quebec City after Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Quentin Halys on Friday, and Czechia and the United States were level at 1-1 going into Saturday in Prague (draw and schedule). Chile against Spain and Germany against Croatia finish on Sunday. Every tie is in our round preview, and every past champion is in our Davis Cup winners list.
