Prior to the start of India's Davis Cup World Group playoff against the top-ranked Czech Republic, non-playing captain Anand Amritraj had just one advice for his boys — serve it hot.
Prior to the start of India's Davis Cup World Group playoff against the top-ranked Czech Republic, non-playing captain Anand Amritraj had just one advice for his boys — serve it hot.
The yesteryear star wanted his wards to exploit the Delhi weather by engaging the visitors in long rallies in order to wear them out. Unfortunately, only Somdev Devvarman put theory into practice as India lost the rubber 1-3.
"I am disappointed with the end result, because I thought, in Delhi, with the heat and humidity, this would be our best chance. With the rubber tied 1-1 on Friday, this is what we wanted to do," a visibly disappointed Amritraj said on Sunday.
The onus, most certainly, was on star performers Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna. But the experienced pair failed to implement Amritraj's game plan against the rampaging Czechs, instead losing to Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek in straight sets.
"We assumed that our doubles team was going to come through, but that was a rude shock and was totally unexpected that we end up losing that match. And not just losing, but losing it in three straight sets," Amritraj said.
"I think we lost the tie yesterday (Saturday). If we had won the doubles match, there would have been less pressure on Yuki today (Sunday) and Somdev was going to come out after that to play (Lukas) Rosol. Somdev was expected to keep Rosol out there for three to four hours and if the guy could still beat him, then we would have lost 2-3. But yesterday was the day that decided the tie. I am disappointed with how things went," Amritraj added.
But amidst the euphoria and celebration of Paes's mixed doubles triumph in the US Open, a crucial fact that escaped the attention of the Indian camp was that the Czechs were very well prepared. For starters, they touched base a week in advance to get acclimatised to the notorious Delhi weather. However, Paes landed in the city just a day before the start of the tie, leaving many a crestfallen tennis fan to wonder if he expected the Czechs to hand him the match on a platter.
A doubles specialist of his time, Amritraj knows that a team game is all about chemistry. He is still trying to come to terms with the stunning defeat suffered by Paes and Bopanna. Even though it's just too early to say anything about the future, Amritraj dropped a hint about trying out a new pairing during India's Davis Cup outing in July 2016.
"We have players in Saketh (Myneni), Ramkumar (Ramanathan) but I don't think we have to take a decision now. However, it's always good to look at the future," he said. Meanwhile, Bopanna had his own take on the entire issue of "exploiting heat". "As professional players on the circuit, we play round the year in Europe or the US or in countries where it's much cooler than it is in India. How come someone suggests that we're more ready to play under such intense heat and humidity," Bopanna said.
On the suggestion whether India should try a different doubles team, his take was simple: "Unfortunately, there are no other options available other than me and Leander right now. Especially after playing at this level, we don't really have that many options. For singles, we have Ramkumar and Saketh coming out," said the World No. 13, adding, "In doubles, we don't even have a player at the Tour level who has been there consistently. It's not a marriage of convenience. It's a fact that we don't have players playing at the highest level so we obviously have to play guys who play in the Grand Slams and the Masters series. Right now, it's only Leander and me. There is no one."
And therein lies a tale.
QUOTE
We assumed that our doubles team was going to come through, but that was a rude shock and was totally unexpected that we end up losing that match. And not just losing, but losing it in three straight sets
-- Anand Amritraj, non-playing captain
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