CHENNAI: A year ago, enjoying a cruise from Boston to Montreal, Anand Amritraj was oblivious to the outside world. When he switched on his phone near St Lawrence, he was surprised to find numerous text messages from his son Stephen. The eldest of the Amritraj brothers had been named the non-playing captain of the Indian Davis Cup team.
“I was thrilled and excited,” recollects Amritraj. “It took a long time to come but I am glad it happened.”
On Monday, India just about fell short of pulling off an upset when they gave World No 2 Serbia a run for their money in the World Group playoff, before falling 2-3. As Amritraj relived the adrenaline-filled weekend, the exhilaration in his voice could not be missed.
“The players exceeded expectations. For the first time since the 1980s, we have a team which has bonded very well. The way Somdev (Devvarman) played on Sunday, was one of the most gutsy performances I have ever seen. The future looks good,” he said.
The skipper, however, has a bigger task at hand at the upcoming Asian Games. Three of the four players from the Davis Cup squad will not be present there, including Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Devvarman. After initial doubts, Sania Mirza decided to take the flight to Incheon. Defending the players’ decision, Amritraj said scheduling and not lack of patriotism was the reason behind the pull-outs.
“It’s not a mental conflict. Scheduling is a problem. The tennis calendar sets aside four weeks a year for the Davis Cup and no other tournament is held during that time. But in the case of the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympics, there are three tournaments clashing with these. It all comes down to job security,” he said.
With the players pulling out just a couple of weeks before the Games, there is no time to include others in the squad. The final men’s line-up comprises Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni, Sanam Singh and Divij Sharan. “It’s not a bad squad. Just because the players pulled out, we cannot question their commitment. All of them are exemplary and extremely patriotic. They are trying to make a living. Leander and Rohan have lost ranking spots in the last few months and if they don’t improve, they will have trouble getting into top tournaments. It’s unfortunate that these Games are not fit in the tennis calendar. As far was Ramkumar (Ramanathan) is concerned, it is better that he focuses on improving his ranking by playing more tournaments, than participating in Asiad.”