Koreans want to cash on Bhupathi’s absence

New Delhi, April 3: If the South Korean Davis Cup team's mood is anything to go by, then India had better beware. The Koreans arrived from...

New Delhi, April 3: If the South Korean Davis Cup team’s mood is anything to go by, then India had better beware. The Koreans arrived from Singapore on Sunday — they had driven to Singapore from Johor Barou in Malaysia, where they have been practicing on grass for the past week — and were in a completely relaxed frame of mind, at least in Monday’s first practice session at the National Sports Club of India.

In fact, current Korean coach Bong-Soo Kim was part of two Davis Cup wins against India, in 1989 in Barauch on grass and 1990 in Seoul on clay. He was of the opinion that the heat and the grass would not make as much of a difference to the result, as would the advantage gained from the absence of Mahesh Bhupathi. The Indians of course, are hoping to maximise the advantage gained by Delhi’s April heat and the surface, as Korea has no grasscourts.

Said Kim: “I was here in India in 1989, when we played on grass, in Barauch. Then the temperature was 38 degrees and we still beat India 4-1.” Kim had won both his singles matches, against Zeeshan Ali and Srinivas Vasudevan.

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He continued, “With Bhupathi not around, we can try and concentrate on winning the doubles. (When India lost 2-3 to Korea last year, Paes and Bhupathi had predictably won the doubles rubber).”

However, Korea’s non-playing captain Won Hong Joo did say, that “The weather is not so good for my team and we’re not used to grass. But, we’re very fit”.

“Last year when we won, we got lucky against Paes, when Yong-il Yoon managed to get past him in the singles. Once we were leading 2-0, we were not going to give up,” he added.

The Koreans, like the Indians, will decide the doubles combination later, depending on the result of the first two singles matches, but Joo said that if necessary, Yoon and Hyung-Taik Lee might play the doubles.

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And as Kim puts it, “We are looking forward to the tie. We have practiced on grass, at the Pondelosa Health Club in Johor Barou. Even if the food and the weather is different in Malaysia, we still have a good chance here.”

The Indians had two practice sessions at the courts and relaxed in between with a game of pool at the team hotel.

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