India lost both the doubles and the first singles match of the day on Saturday to hand Denmark an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the Davis Cup World Group Play-Off tie here.

With the loss of this tie, India were relegated to World Group II.

World No.9 Holger Rune played a stellar role, winning both his singles and the doubles matches. India had defeated Denmark 4-0 in their last meeting in New Delhi in 2022, with Rune being absent from that tie.

India’s Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri lost to Rune and Johannes Ingildsen in straight sets and then Sumit Nagal lost to Rune to see the tie slip out of India’s hand.

The Danish pair made short work of the Indians, winning 6-2, 6-4 in just 65 minutes as Rune’s presence proved to be a decisive factor.

Rune then came back to tame Nagal 7-5, 6-3 in an hour and 37 minutes.

Earlier on Friday, India’s No.1 player Nagal had erased a one-set deficit to pip August Holmgren 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes. Nagal restored parity after Bhambri had a forgettable opening singles losing 2-6, 2-6 to the rising teen sensation Rune. Bhambri now plays only doubles on tour.

The 25-year-old Nagal, ranked 506, dropped serve in the very first game of the match but once he got control over his nerves, he was his usual fighting self.

He got the break back but squandered the chances when Holmgren offered them. The Danish player, ranked 484, eventually sealed the set.

In the second set, it was Nagal who drew first blood and went up 5-2. He served out the set in the ninth game to force a decider.

Nagal had a chance to get the first break when he made a deep return and Holmgren’s forehand return sailed over the baseline at 30-all but the home player served well to save the chance.

Nagal got another chance when Holmgren netted a forehand at deuce point in the third game but he himself made a forehand error on the breakpoint.

While Nagal preferred to hit from the baseline, Holmgren often charged the net often to create chances for volley winners.

Holmgren handed Nagal another break chance when he tried to pick a low volley but could not keep the ball in the court and followed that up with a double fault, allowing the Indian to take a mini 3-2 lead.

That lead stayed with Nagal and he came out serving for the match in the 10th game. Holmgren’s forehand error gave the Indian three match points and converted the first one on home team player’s unforced error.

In the opening singles, 19-year-old Rune broke Bhambri twice in each set. Rune converted four of the seven break chances while the Indian did not get a single chance to break his opponent.

Written with inputs from PTI