Hosts India take on a strong Spain, comprising Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, in World Group Playoff tie from Friday
With Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in its armoury, Spain's Davis Cup team for the World Group Playoff against India looks invincible. Even then the visitors are not taking any chances as the entire bandwagon hit the ground immediately after their arrival in the capital on Tuesday.
Looking at how Nadal sweated out at the centre court for over two hours under extreme humid conditions, one could judge the seriousness by which these visitors are approaching this tie against a team which could best be called a 'bunch of rookies'.
Watching Nadal hitting powerful ground strokes in practice was as thrilling as watching him play in any of the Grand Slam matches. The sweat soaked three T-shirts was telling the story of how much he was stretching in the practice session. Delhi's humidity was probably the only hope for Indians but then unavailability of two regular singles players — Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri — forced the team management to opt for floodlit matches in order to help rookie players like Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan last for entire duration.
"It is the toughest challenge for us. In fact, all three contests in the recent play-offs, like Serbia in 2014 and the Czech (Republic) last year, have made our task of reaching World Group difficult. And this full-strength Spain is a very tough proposition," India non-playing captain Anand Amritraj did acknowledge the magnitude of the challenge confronting India in front of the home crowd from 16-18 September.
India always knew that it would be like punching above their weight when it comes to taking on a fit again Nadal or Ferrer in any conditions. But one bout where India could well have fancied chances was that in the doubles.
However, that too was neutralised last week when doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna decided to pull out citing knee injury.
Myneni and Ramanathan made their Davis Cup singles debut against Korea in July only and it would be little too much to expect any miracles from them. The only thing which team management would be looking forward to from these rookies is to at least give some cheering moments to a potential full-house here at the RK Khanna Stadium.
The only player who is going to learn anything from this tie will be 19-year-old Wimbledon junior champion Sumit Nagal, who has a long career ahead of him. And who knows if he, too, can get a chance to flex his arms alongside 43-year-old Leander Paes in the doubles.
Lacking in punch
With Indian team lacking any top singles player, it has reflected in their Davis Cup results. The World Group can only accommodate the top 16 countries, and the last time India managed to be amongst them was in 2011.
On the other hand, Spain have an army of 11 players who figure in Top 100 ranking in the world. Having won the Davis Cup titles five times in recent years — 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2011 — and finished runners-up twice — 2003 and 2012 — one could well compare them with any of the top teams in the history of tournament's history.
It was only with the decline of Nadal's form in 2014 that Spain dropped out of the World Group. "We are taking this tie against India very seriously as it's extremely important for us to return to the World Group," Spain captain and former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martínez said on her arrival in Delhi.
Even Nadal echoed her sentiments by saying that "playing away can never be taken easy by any team in Davis Cup ties".
"There were so many times in the past when we're termed as favourite but we lost to teams ranked below us. Playing at home is a great opportunity for India and I'm sure both the (singles) players are going to play with a lot of confidence against the Spanish players," said Nadal.
Historic opportunity for rookies
It was only couple of months back in Chandigarh that Indian players found it hard to last the three gruelling days against not so fancy Koreans. That was attributed to humidity and also the inexperience of young players.
Though this time around, hosts have preferred hard courts and flood lights to somehow giving some breathing space for this young side but the fact remains that by doing so India have more or less accepted their fate. "It's always exciting to test yourself against the best of players," said Myneni who only few days back stretched the world No. 49 Jiri Vesely in the US Open five setter.
Having a huge home support could well help Indians a bit during an uneven contest but one thing is for sure that it will be a great bonanza for the tennis fans of Delhi to witness all-time great Nadal in action. And AITA has even more good news for all of them.
"The entry is free."
It's now up to the Indian rookies to make a match of it with the help of these cheering fans. But there is a catch... The fans can well ditch you in no time if you fail to match their expectations!
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