H2H: India 1-0 Croatia, a look back at the only India-Croatia Davis Cup meet before Qualifiers begin
![Image ALt](/oldwebsite/sites/default/files/field/image/Image_3.jpg)
India is all set to lock horns with the number one seeded team Croatia in the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers
By Saurabh Singh
India is all set to lock horns with the number one seeded team Croatia in the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers from 6th to 7th March at Dom Sportova in Zagreb, Croatia. This week, 24 teams including Croatia and India are pitted against each other in a bid to earn 12 spots for the Davis Cup Finals to be held later this year in November. The losing 12 teams in the qualifiers will be placed in World Group I.
The Indian team is matched up against the Croats who are currently ranked second in the Davis Cup Nations Ranking in the world while India lies at the 22nd spot.
However, India enjoys a 1-0 head-to-head record against the two-time champions, Croatia. In their only meeting ever before this year’s Qualifiers tie, India had beaten Croatia 3:2 at World Group Qualifying 1st Round held at New Delhi in September, 1995.
Interestingly, it was India’s legend and Davis Cup superstar Leander Paes who was the chief architect of that famous win with Paes winning both his singles rubber and partnering Mahesh Bhupathi, he won the doubles rubber too for India.
Rubber 1: L Paes bt. S Hirszon 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
Rubber 2: G Ivanisevic bt. M Bhupathi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Rubber 3: M Bhupathi/L Paes bt. S Hirszon/G Ivanisevic 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6
Rubber 4: L Paes bt. G Ivanisevic 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1
Rubber 5: S Hirszon bt. M Bhupathi 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
25 years on, India is upbeat to score a win against former champions at their home and keep the bragging rights in Davis Cup competition and the Indian side will field Leander Paes once again, along with junior compatriots Sumit Nagal, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan (reserve).Leander Paes once again, along with junior compatriots Sumit Nagal, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan (reserve).
Before the qualifiers begin, here are some glimpses from the 1995 India-Croatia match.