Krishnan heralds new Indian attitude

New Delhi, April 1: The upcoming Davis Cup tennis tie against South Korea next weekend will not be an easy one. And the Indians know it, i...

New Delhi, April 1: The upcoming Davis Cup tennis tie against South Korea next weekend will not be an easy one. And the Indians know it, if the amount of work they’re putting into the practice sessions is any indication of how they’re taking their opponents.

This time will be different though, not just in that the tie is being played on grass in the sapping Delhi heat, but more importantly, because of the new-attitude Indian team led by Ramesh Krishnan.

The Indians — Syed Fazaluddin, Vishaal Uppal, Prahlad Srinath, reserves Vijay Kannan and Saurav Panja — gathered here at grasscourts of the National Sports Club of India, are maturing. Not just as players, but in their on and off court relationship and understanding with each other, with their captain and in their new-found confidence — which one hopes will not be misplaced — in their own abilities.

Story continues below this ad

When Paes gets to town, the atmosphere will be more charged up but a lot of credit for what one can see must go to Ramesh, in whom all the boys have lots of faith. He is different from the previous captains in that he is a hands-on man. Discipline is rigidly imposed and it is to his credit that the players have accepted his dictat without fuss.

But Ramesh, from the previous tie — his first as captain in Lucknow — has shown he means business. During February’s Asia Oceania Group I tie against Lebanon, there was only one practice court at the Oudh Gymkhana and the team would practice in four sessions to give all the players a chance. Not once did Ramesh take a break.

“He even ate his lunch standing,” said Uppal, then the second reserve, but now a full-fledged member of the team.

An indelible memory of that tie would be the sight of an agitated Ramesh, ordinarily very calm, willing India’s second singles player Fazal to close out his match against Lebanese No 1 Hicham Zaatini after Paes had got past Ali Hamadeh in the earlier match.

Story continues below this ad

Fazal had lost four games in a row in the fourth set after being two sets to one and was one game away from losing the fourth. He later said it was what Ramesh said to him in the changeover that made the difference. “He told me to relax and see it as just another game.”

Paes had also pointed out then, that “what Ramesh brings to the game is sheer professionalism”. And four days into the practice sessions at the grass courts of the NSCI here, if Fazal states “Ramesh is my tennis God,” he has good reason to.

Meanwhile, Paes is due to arrive from Orlando, Florida, late on Saturday night and the Koreans will be in town by around 9 pm on Sunday.