Yuki to make his Davis Cup debut?

Prakash Amritraj may be languishing at world No.199 in singles but there is no denying that when it comes to Davis Cup, his experience is gold dust.

He played a crucial role as India reached the World Group play-off last year where they were eventually halted by Romania. But be it the victory over Uzbekistan in February or the triumph over Japan in April, the US-based Indian’s victories in singles cannot be over-emphasised.

As India get ready for the Asia-Oceania Zone March 6-8 encounter in Chinese Taipei, experts feel the government’s ruling that only Indian citizens would be eligible to represent the country, would punch a severe hole in our Davis Cup aspirations.

Though the announcement of the team is still a day or two away, DNA has learnt that rookie Yuki Bhambri, who created history by winning the Australian Open junior title, could replace the beleaguered Prakash. Non-playing captain SP Misra, who took over after Leander Paes stepped down last August, would continue in that role.

According to AITA sources, though Yuki could be drafted into the squad, chances of him actually taking to the court against Yu-Hui Lien & Co. at their backyard are pretty slim. India’s opponents are quite a formidable unit and managed to beat Kazakhstan 4-1 even without their best player, Rendy Lu Yen-Hsun.

Lu reached a career-high 58 in the ATP singles’ rankings following a breakthrough performance at the recently concluded Australian Open, where he stunned 10th seed David Nalbandian in five sets. He would return against India.

So it boils down to Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman. Veterans Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, of course, won’t be available for singles.

Bopanna, who’s also had a few memorable outings wearing India colours, would be under immense pressure. His partner in singles, Somdev, made his debut last year and has lost all three of his Davis Cup encounters so far. Though he started off well in the New Year with a title round appearance in Chennai, he lost out in the final against Marin Cilic in a two-setter. In the Australian Open which followed, Somdev was beaten in the qualifiers by Prakash.

Says former Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea, “It’s going to be a tough match. They would be playing at home... That’s a definite advantage. Taipei have a top-50 player in their ranks who has beaten Nalbandian recently... So, if anything, I’d say there’s a 50-50 chance of our going through...”

Mukerjea also feels that keeping Misra as the non-playing captain is a good choice.
“It’s always better when someone who doesn’t have to take to the courts to handle the captaincy... Sometimes captaincy could be a distraction. Leander did a good job, but at times it did seem that he wasn’t being able to concentrate fully because of off-court happenings... I feel Misra is the right choice.”

The Arjuna awardee felt now is the time to blood Yuki into the Davis Cup squad.
“Yuki has done well. He could do with a little Davis Cup exposure... With the likes of Leander and Mahesh around, he could benefit a lot by rubbing shoulders with these champions...”

Davis Cup coach and selector Akhtar Ali agrees. “We need to be careful with Yuki. Though he is a phenomenal talent and is in the right hands, too much brouhaha over his junior Australian Open title could actually be counter-productive...

“Yuki needs to work on two areas to develop into a complete player - his serve and the strength around his legs,” Ali says. He felt the Davis Cup exposure would do a world of good for Yuki and if selected, would come at the right time.”