Sport | Tennis

Davis Cup: India wary of Russian backlash

Veteran Paes believes players, coaches and partisan home fans will pile the pressure on singles star Devvarman

  • By Jaydip Sengupta, Sports Writer
  • Published: 00:00 March 4, 2010
  • XPRESS

 Dubai: You'd think the withdrawal of the world's biggest tennis stars from the first round of the Davis Cup World Group ties starting tomorrow would have taken the gloss out of the prestigious event which offers 625 ranking points.

Not if you are an Indian though. Back among the tennis elite after 12 years, the Indians will be rejoicing that their opponents Russia will be without top player Nikolay Davydenko, who has pulled out with a left wrist injury.

The world No 6 joins Swiss world No 1 Roger Federer (lung infection), Spanish No 3 Rafael Nadal (knee injury), Argentine No 5 Juan Martin Del Potro (right wrist injury), American No 8 Andy Roddick (shoulder injury) and Spanish No 12 Fernando Verdasco (back injury) in the list of big names who have opted out of their respective first-round clashes.

And despite the depth in the Russian ranks, the Indians, led in the singles by Somdev Devvarman, who rose 15 places this week to No 128, will now fancy their chances.

"Even if Davydenko doesn't play, they have enough quality to make it tough for us," Devvarman told XPRESS during his successful stint at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships last week.

"I know I am expected to do well as I am the country's No 1 singles player, but that is the kind of pressure I thrive on," he added. Devvarman has had a flawless singles record in 2009 winning all his four matches against Chinese Taipei and then South Africa.

Given that the tie is in Moscow and on hard courts indoors, Davydenko had no hesitation in picking the winner. "We will definitely win," he said when asked in Dubai. He might have known at that time that he was unlikely to play, but he also knew he had able people to take over in his absence.

Mikhail Youzhny, who reached the final in Dubai will take over the first singles player's spot. Ranked No 13, the Russian was, however, reluctant to talk about the upcoming tie, saying he didn't want to speak about it beforehand.

But one man, who has won more Davis Cup matches than all other players in this tie put together, believes the heat will be on Devvarman.

Leander Paes, who has an 84-31 record in Davis Cup ties, said: "Somdev is improving every day and I am sure it will not have gone unnoticed by the Russians. They will go after him, the players, fans and all and try to unnerve him."

Paes on his part will be expected to win the doubles match with Mahesh Bhupathi with Rohan Bopanna playing in the second singles against Davydenko's replacement, the world No 38 Igor Andreev. Russia will also have Teimuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn as they seek to maintain the record of not having lost in their last 16 home ties dating back to 1996. India, on their part, are 2-1 on head-to-head, the hosts having won on every occasion.

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