HALF EMPTY

However, India seem to have hit a big speed-breaker on the road. The last time India featured in the elite World Group was in 1998 and their last final appearance was a good 11 years earlier. Since then, the tricolour has fluttered bravely but not with the gusto that was seen when they took on the best in the world, though ranked much lower the ATP order. Fired by patriotism they matched more fancied opponents shot for shot.

For the past years, India have faltered, and their scheme of things has not extended beyond the boundaries of the Asia-Oceania Zone.

8220;The competition is getting tougher and tougher in the Asian zone,8221; said Akhtar Ali, long associated with the Indian Davis Cup team as a player and a coach. 8220;You see, the standard of tennis in Davis Cup has improved drastically. India are struggling, but it8217;s not that we don8217;t have good players now. Rohan Bopanna is doing well, Prakash Amritraj is also talented,8221; he says.

But there can be no denying the fact that a certain downslide has been seen in India8217;s fortunes in recent years ever since Paes and Bhupathi moved past their prime. On their able shoulders 8212; especially Paes8217; 8212; India had ridden long enough. And the time has come for the baton to be passed on. Mahesh Bhupathi has already stopped playing singles. And when India take on Uzbekistan in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 quarter finals, the injured Paes may only be playing a non-playing captain8217;s role. Akhtar is unwilling to rule him out, though. 8220;Knowing Leander, he may decide to have a go at the last minute,8221; he said. And Davis Cup rules do allow the captain to change the team at the last minute.

According to Akhtar, India do have a fair chance to advance, though the journey may not be easy. And he too, a bit hesitantly, did agree that Bopanna and Amritraj will have to hoist their game by a few notches to get past the Uzbeks.

India lost to Uzbekistan in the first round in 2007, but defeated Kazakhstan in the first round of the relegation play-offs to maintain their place in Group I. And India will have to look out for Denis Istomin, who won both his singles in the 2007 match, defeating Vivek Shokeen and Karan Rastogi.

Another Davis Cup legend, Mukerjea, is not so optimistic about India8217;s Davis Cup prospects. 8220;I really don8217;t see this team making it to the World Group in the near future. After all, Bopanna and Amritraj have been stuck below 200 in the ATP rankings for a few years now,8221; he rues.

Mukerjea, who had also coached the Davis Cup team for years, added that that Paes in his prime had made it to the top 100 in singles, while the Paes-Bhupathi duo had been the top doubles team in the world, winning three Grand Slam doubles titles together.

Mukerjea also blamed the national body for the lack of top class players. 8220;You see, whether you talk about me, Premjit Lall, the Krishnans or Paes and Bhupathi, none was really a product of a national-level coaching scheme. The better players in India still come from private academies,8221; he said.

The veterans also believed that while other teams from this zone 8212; like Thailand, Uzbekistan, Korea and Japan 8212; have been able to improve their standard of the game, India have not been able to keep pace.

However, they still see some hope in the future with players like Somdev Dev Varman and Yuki Bhambri. Dev Varman, who is also part of this Davis Cup team, however, is not much of a grass court player. According to Mukerjea, who has seen Dev Varman from close, he is more of a slow clay-court player. 8220;But no doubt, he has talent,8221; he said.

Paes has been the guiding force of the team ever since his debut in 1990, when he was just 16 years old. During his career, he had defeated the likes of Wayne Ferreira, Goran Ivanisevic, Jiri Novak and Jan Siermerink. But as the non-playing captain now, he has to think and decide who would be able to carry on that legacy.

On paper, Paes and Bhupathi still remain an integral part of the India8217;s Davis Cup hopes. And in doubles perhaps they are still a force to reckon with. But it is really no longer a fair expectation that Paes will win crucial singles matches as well, even when he is fit. It8217;s time for the others to stand up and be counted. And soon it will be clear if India have to wait a while or not for the next Davis Cup star to emerge.