Bhambri to start India’s Davis Cup campaign

The absence of World No 5 Tomas Berdych, an experienced Davis Cup campaigner for the Czechs, would do little to assuage the worries of Yuki and Somdev. While Leander Paes, who has been the country’s most successful player in Davis Cup, is coming into the clash at the back of back-to-back Grand Slam wins in Mixed Doubles at the Wimbledon and US Open 2015, Yuki Bhambri is looking to break through in the top 100 of the ATP Rankings. “In the meantime, the others are getting as much practice as possible on the centre court as singles is a huge part of the tie, so that they get their time on the court”, he said.

Veteran Radak Stepanek has been their mainstay for years and would be excited to contest against his former doubles partner on tour, Paes.

On Friday, India’s numero uno singles player Yuki Bhambri – ranked 125th in the world – will open the proceedings against Lukas Rosol (85) while Somdev Devarman (164) will play next against world no. 40 Jiri Vesley in the second singles. “It should be an interesting match against him”.

India’s non-playing captain Anand Amritraj once again said that the weather could be a deciding factor.

“Conditions are almost similar to what it was during the tie against Brazil”. “It could be around 36-37 degree centigrade during the day, and that might make even Novak Djokovic falter”, he said.

Interestingly, the possibility of rain in the capital in the next couple of days has left both the teams worried.

No doubt, India are counting on some positives – the heat, the impeccable record of Somdev at the DLTA and Bhambri’s current form.

As unlikely as it seems though, the fledgling crowd here at the RK Khanna stadium would want Navratil’s boys to be stretched to the limit over the next three days and maybe, just maybe keep the top seeds away from the World Group and in turn delay their bid at redemption! However, it will be a mistake to underestimate the Czech players.

“The Czechs are a big serving lot… they should never be allowed to get into a comfort zone with easy points”.

“The draw has come out exactly as they wanted”, he said. Now the matches are on hard courts… players play on such surfaces throughout the year. “So it is going to be tough”, added Amritraj.