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While the home team’s performance was lauded, Vijay Amritraj sounded the practical note. His message was to look at the larger picture, and not just achievements in the Davis Cup.
Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj finds tennis a lonely place. He travels to tennis tournaments around the world, sometimes as brand ambassador, sometimes as commentator. But, the absence of Indian singles players in the ATP and WTA circuits upsets him. So, what does he do instead? He finds solace in another racket game. “I just love following badminton—the Indian boys and girls are doing a spectacular job there!” said Amritraj, his face lighting up as he talks about the Indian shuttlers.
“We haven’t had anyone in the [tennis singles] top 50 since Ramesh Krishnan! Who was our last [singles] player to play on centre court in Wimbledon? It was me. In Asia, the next one was Japan’s Kei Nishikori. We must focus on having players good enough to play grand slams. We haven’t addressed this issue in the last 40 years,” he told THE WEEK.
The ageing tennis landscape has been an issue plaguing Indian tennis for some time. But, now, tennis is the talk of the town. A generational shift has happened in Indian tennis, almost smoothly. India qualified for the World Group playoffs of the Davis Cup for the fourth successive year, beating Uzbekistan in the second round of Asia/Oceania Group 1 tie in Bengaluru. While the home team’s performance was lauded, Amritraj sounded the practical note. His message was to look at the larger picture, and not just achievements in the Davis Cup.
Uzbekistan did not field its strongest team. The 71st-ranked Denis Istomin was absent because of a foot injury. For India, it was their least experienced team going into the crucial tie with a new non-playing captain. India went in with a spate of injuries to first-choice players Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan, Saketh Myneni and Sumit Nagal, giving Mahesh Bhupathi little to choose from, ahead of his debut tie as skipper. India’s singles players—Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan—were ranked outside 250 in the world. Two of four players—Gunneswaran and Sriram Balaji—were Davis Cup debutants. Despite an underwhelming proposition, the round turned out to be an exuberant one. Three-time Davis Cup runners-up (1966, 1974, 1987), India is now drawn to play eighth-seed Canada in September in an away tie.
“It was a testing time for us,” India’s Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali told THE WEEK. “Two out of four guys had never played a five-setter before. We were a bit shaky going in. This is why we decided to go in with three singles players and one doubles specialist as we were not sure how the new players would react to playing the five-setters.”
The tie also marked the end of the Leander Paes era in India’s Davis Cup history. His 27-year journey in the tournament came to an end when Bhupathi fielded Rohan Bopanna and Balaji in doubles. Paes, expectedly, cried foul and some bad blood was spilt, but Bhupathi had the backing of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) and the selectors. It was also largely welcomed by the tennis fraternity.
Former Davis Cup player and coach Jaideep Mukherjea said, “We have to look at the young players. They are the future. Both, Leander and Mahesh, are getting older. Leander is 43, so [to drop him] is common sense, really. I agree with Mahesh that we need younger players for the Davis Cup. If players get injured, one player ends up playing three rubbers.”
Both the Indian debutants are 27—not the ideal age to blood them in the Davis Cup. But, they displayed no nerves and raised their games to the occasion. Gunneswaran and Balaji’s big serves and returns have thrown up exciting options for Bhupathi. After India sealed the tie, Bhupathi said, “We can give anybody a run for their money. We just need some help with the draws. With the kind of serves we have, anything is possible.”
It was not just the on-court performances that brought the cheers, but also the off-court camaraderie. The team gathered almost a week in advance to prepare and bond. The seniors—Bhupathi, Bopanna and Zeeshan—made the newcomers feel welcome. Said Bopanna after the doubles rubber, “The more we spend time together, the better. For the first time, the whole team was together on a Sunday.”
Amritraj, however, says the playoffs will be challenging due to lack of a strong, top 100 singles player—which every other team will have. “You cannot go into a cannon fight with a peashooter,” he said.
But, other former players feel positive. A shift in planning and preparation is slowly setting in. For the first time, on Bhupathi’s demand, the AITA provided a proper support staff of physios and trainers. Bhupathi insisted on a fitness test before deciding on a team. “It helped us decide which player is capable of going all three days in a tie,” said Zeeshan. “It was a lesson we learnt in Pune when Saketh Myneni came into the tie after [picking up an] injury at the Chennai Open and thinking all was fine, but it flared up. It is really tough to find a player to come in and fill up so close to the tie.”
Zeeshan admits that India is the only team in the playoffs without a top 150-ranked player. “That is a concern, though Yuki and Saketh were close to 150 before they got injured. We go into the playoffs as underdogs because of this. [But] with youngsters in the frame, we have more players to chose from. We have a lot of players who can play on different surfaces.”
Even Amritraj agrees that it is critical to focus on growth of youngsters. “None of our boys and girls have been able to play a regular tournament. What amazes me is when a young guy comes in as a wildcard at the Chennai Open, in the last four to five years, you see him in the top 50 in the next year and half ,” said Amritraj. The Indians, however, fail to make this transition.
Zeeshan says the reason why a lot of Indian players are falling off the rankings chart is the absence of Challenger tournaments at home. “It is in these tournaments that you make the transition from rank 250 to rank 150 in the world,” said Zeeshan. “There are a lot of Futures [tournaments], but no Challengers in India.” But, he remains optimistic. “With more government funds allocated, plans to host Challengers, the AITA providing a support system and Somdev [Devvarman] coming in as government observer, I see change coming slowly. I like it.”
