By the time the 25-year-old fell to the court and was mobbed by the entire Indian team, Dhakshineswar (or ‘DK’ as he likes to be known) was involved in all three points that gave India victory, with his two singles victories coming either side of his partner Yuki Bhambri in a marathon doubles match that gave India a 2-1 lead early on Sunday evening.
India needed a hero and Dhakshineswar stepped up, with an ATP ranking of 470, in only his second ever Davis Cup match. Even though that was a misleading rank (DK doesn’t play on tour, only on the college circuit, where he has been NCAA doubles #1 and singles #3), it didn’t undermine the magnitude of his achievement.
Since Leander Paes did it against Japan in 2004, India had not seen a player play three games in a Davis Cup tie and win all three. Dhakshineswar’s huge serve, which measured 6 feet 1 inch, threw the Netherlands into turmoil throughout the match. In the deciding singles match against Guy den Ouden, Dhakshineswar served 15 aces in a straight sets victory. India have now registered a win against South Korea in South Korea, away from the eight-team Davis Cup final tournament to be held in Italy at the end of this year.
Scenes from a historic victory for India on home soil as they defeated the Netherlands 3-2 in an epic encounter ������
Dhakshineswar Suresh beats Guy Ouden 6-4, 7-6 (4) to advance his country to the second qualifying round#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/8f5hhZ4KlD
– Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 8, 2026
“He can’t see the ball,” the Indians fans sang during the fifth game, mocking Den Ouden’s inability to find an effective response to Dhakshineswar’s serve. They may not have merely exaggerated with poetic license. Den Ouden didn’t know what happened to him, just like world number 88 Jesper de Jong discovered the night before. Perhaps the Netherlands’ two highest-ranked singles players, Tallon Greekpoor and Botic van de Zandschulp, might have done better, but the Dutch team felt their second step was enough to beat India. They soon found out differently.
“He makes us feel mortal,” said Bhambri, speaking about Dhakshineswar’s service. Bhambri provided a huge support act in the doubles, which India won in a third-set tiebreak, which they dominated thanks to some blistering groundstrokes from him. The Mortals, as Bhambri called himself and his teammates, responded by carrying Dhakshineswar around the field as an adoring Bengaluru crowd, who have now adopted the great man as one of their own, serenaded him with anthems, and then Sumit Nagal took the stadium announcer’s microphone to shout: “DK Suresh, what a legend, what a player!” as happiness knew no bounds in the India camp.
It was a big decision for captain Rohit Rajpal at the start of Day 2, with Sriram Balaji originally nominated to partner Bhambri for the doubles match, but he was replaced by Dhakshineswar. “It was not an arbitrary decision,” Bhambri said after that win. The Indian team had planned for a situation where Dhakshineswar might have to play the doubles match, and he had even trained with Bhambri ahead of the tie in Bengaluru. The fast courts at the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium suited his style. India had a literal and metaphorical ace up their sleeve: they wanted him to be on the field for as long as possible.
That supporting act for Bhambri was the only thing Dhakshineswar got on the track all weekend. Naturally, the stands were quite full and the team wanted to push through every point.
After a stunning Davis Cup debut in the final round against Switzerland that took India to this stage, it was time for Dhakshineswar to take center stage again.
He had to because India’s singles No. 1 Sumit Nagal, who was battling a hip injury, lost both his singles matches in the draw, first to den Ouden on Saturday and then to de Jong on Sunday. Both were three-setters with wild swings, but Nagal just didn’t do enough, leaving Dhakshineswar with everything to do.
So everything he did. Dhakshineswar was the first to keep India alive, against number one in the world. 88 Jesper de Jong did so in style, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, with a performance that exuded calm and tranquility. Then came the toughest part of the match: playing two games in one day. It was already a difficult question, now imagine: you have played a three-hour doubles match, had three hours of rest and have to go back on the court for a winner-takes-all singles match. Dhakshineswar said he had only one thing in mind: winning the tie for India.
And so he did. Three games played. Won three games. Serve continuously during these three matches. Over the course of one weekend, Dhakshineswar Suresh became the new toast of Indian tennis. He did it all alone, with few helping hands along the way from Yuki Bhambri and a boisterous home crowd that sometimes bordered on boisterous.
In the south of India, the ‘God of the South’ has given his divine touch to this tie.
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