BENGALURU: Fast emerging as a vital cog in India’s Davis Cup plans, Dhakshineswar Suresh once again rose to the occasion, outgunning Dutch number one Jesper de Jong in a battle of big servers to level the Qualifiers Round 1 tie 1-1 against the Netherlands here on Saturday.

Ranked as low as 465, Dhakshineswar won the battle of big servers against the world No88 de Jong, ensuring India did not slip further after Sumit Nagal’s defeat in the opening singles earlier in the day.

India had fallen behind after

Nagal mounted a strong comeback from a disastrous start but could not sustain the momentum, losing 0-6 6-4 3-6 to Netherlands’ Guy de Ouden in a two-hour-and-28-minute battle.

Nagal was blown away in the opening set as De Ouden dropped just one point on his serve and wrapped it up in 38 minutes, repeatedly pinning the Indian behind the baseline with deep returns. The Indian fought back strongly in the second set, but De Ouden struck at key moments in the decider, giving the Netherlands a 1-0 lead.

With the pressure firmly on him to keep India alive in the tie, Dhakshineswar responded with a composed display against de Jong, who had come into the contest without a win this season.

The two players served strongly in the opening set, keeping points short, before the Indian seized his chance late to nose ahead. Dhakshineswar showed similar composure in the second set, saving a break point early and capitalising on de Jong’s faltering serve at the crucial stage to seal the contest.

In a match where there was little to separate the two early on, both players served strongly and kept points short, avoiding long rallies. Dhakshineswar began to apply pressure when de Jong served to stay in the opening set, forcing errors and converting his third set point to take the lead.

The Indian showed similar composure in the second set, saving a break point in game three with a strong rally before capitalising on de Jong’s faltering serve at the crucial stage.

The tie is now evenly poised at 1-1.

Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji will face Sander Arends and David Pel in the doubles on Sunday. The reverse singles will be played after the doubles rubber.