This weekend's Davis Cup meeting at the Royal Tennis Hall will determine the caliber of Sweden's future matches.
If they win – which captain Simon Aspelin & Co are aiming for – they will qualify for the final playoffs, matches that will be played at the beginning of next year.
The schedule means that a certain closed and locked door opens for Mikael Ymer.
The 26-year-old, who was banned last year – 18 months for doping offenses due to missed reporting – will be free to play tennis again from January 17th.
"Missed in DC"
Aspelin says that Ymer could very well be part of the DC team then.
Even though there are currently many restrictions on what he can do, he can still train physically and play tennis. Then I know he can start training without restrictions x number of weeks before the competition starts, he says.
The 50-year-old Aspelin, captain since the beginning of 2023, says that he has been in contact with Ymer and believes that their conversations will become much more frequent as the star's comeback approaches.
Then, some of it will be about Davis Cup.
He is clearly missed in the DC context.
If we have the best team, we should be able to compete with the strongest countries in the playoffs.
"New spark"
One who has much closer contact with Mikael Ymer is his older brother Elias.
The 28-year-old says that they talk every day and is convinced that Mikael will be ready when it's time for his comeback.
I think he'll come back with a new spark and I think it'll be really fun from next year onwards, he says.
What is Mikael's status right now?
Better. He has started training.
Where is he training?
At private clubs. It's hard for him to find training, but soon it's time, and he's ready.
He's focusing on physical training, that's what he can focus on. He has to control what he can.
What do you think you lose when you're away from world tennis for 18 months?
I've often said it's about the body, that's why he's doing a lot of physical training. You never forget how to play tennis, says Elias Ymer.
What: Match in the second division, World Group 1, and the winner qualifies for the playoffs.
Where: The Royal Tennis Hall in Stockholm.
When: Saturday and Sunday, the first match on Saturday starts at 2:00 pm and on Sunday, play begins at 12:00 pm.
Previous meetings: Sweden has met India five times – and won all of them. The last time, in 2005 in New Delhi, was a 3–1 victory.
Sweden's team: Elias Ymer, singles 238, doubles 1,355, Leo Borg, 603, 1,593, Adam Heinonen, 751, 492, André Göransson, 66 in doubles, Filip Bergevi, 125 in doubles.
DC captain: Simon Aspelin.
India's team: Ramkumar Ramanathan, 332, 144, Siddharth Vishwakarma, 588, 2,263, Niki Poonacha, 835, 108, Sriram Balaji, 65 in doubles.
DC captain: Rohit Rajpal.
