CHENNAIL: Former tennis player Ramanathan Krishnan is pleased that the next round of Davis Cup will be played in Chennai, regarded by many as the ‘home’ of Indian tennis. India will meet Australia in Asia- Oceania third round Davis Cup tie from May 8 to 10 at the Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium.
Traditionally, Davis Cup ties that India plays at home have mostly been on grass. The last time a Davis Cup tie was played in Chennai 1979 it was on the clay courts of Gymkhana.This time India, for the first time, has opted for the hard courts at the SDAT-Nungambakkam Stadium.
“This time, they have opted for hard-court as our youngsters have b een doing well on that surface,” said Krishnan. “There are hard-courts in other cities too, but Chennai has been choosen because of the psychological advantage. Somdev Devvarman reached the final of the Chennai Open and this would have backed the choice,” added Krishn a n.
Chennai hosting the Davis cup tie this year will be for the fifth time in five decades. India lost to Australia when they last toured Chennai in 1979.
This time around Australia will be be led by former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt. The other singles player will be Chris Guccione or B Klein. So what are India’s chances? “India will have a tough time against Australia which has a player of the calibre of Hewitt in their ranks. India must really work hard in order to have any ambitions of a win,” opined Krishnan, who was the non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team in 1979. “Paes-Bhupathi are there for the doubles. It is the singles we need to concentrate on. Somdev and Bopanna must play the singles. If Somdev repeats his performance at Chennai Open, our chances are bright. The win agai nst Taipei is a boost, but one should not forget that Australia is a tougher side,” said Krishnan.
This is a good opportunity for India to win against Australia and make it to the World Group play off. The last time India played in the World Group (main competition) was in 1998.