Written by: shreyachakravertty
4 min readNew DelhiSep 19, 2008 12:00 AM IST
First published on: Sep 19, 2008 at 12:10 AM IST
The red clay in Bucharest may prefer Davis Cup hosts Romania by a mile, but Somdev Devvarman’s recent feats on the surface ensure this World Group playoff does not have the makings of a whitewash.
The man in question, though, would rather not see himself in that light. “I wouldn’t say all hopes are pinned on me. Prakash is playing some good tennis as well. But whichever way you look at it, I’m very confident heading into the matches,” Somdev told The Indian Express after the draw on Thursday afternoon.
Prakash Amritraj opens the tie against 158-ranked Victor Crivoi, a player who would be hard to get past considering his record on clay this year. Crivoi has had three tournament victories on the surface in 2008 one Challenger and two Futures, and appears to be far more comfortable with its grinding challenge than his Indian counterpart.
Somdev plays Romanian No 1 Victor Hanescu, who has a current ranking of 67. But if it’s numbers that are talking, the Indian could boast of a few in his favour as well. In his first year on the professional tour, Somdev has made quite an impression with three titles one Challenger and two Futures. He has managed to work his way to being the second-ranked Indian after Prakash, and has already spent some time in Romanian conditions prior to the tie. “I really like it here. The people are very nice and I’ve gotten used to the courts and the conditions. I like playing here so far,” says the 242-ranked Indian.
Just a fortnight ago, Somdev had defeated former top-30 Italian Filippo Volandri to qualify for the ATP event in Bucharest.
Subsequently, he lost to world No 18 Nicolas Almagro, but not without displaying his formidable serve and forehand combination. A win for the US-based Indian would make the unlikely event of India reaching the World Group a possibility as India are expected to win the doubles, with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi scheduled to face Adrian Cruciat and Victor Hanescu on Saturday. For Sunday’s reverse singles, Hanescu is drawn to play Prakash, while Somdev plays Crivoi.
Now being referred to as the key to India’s chances in this tie, Somdev has come a long way just a few months after making his Cup debut. Any pressure, though, is carefully hidden away as he readies for the big day. “I’m just going to relax today. Maybe catch a movie, have some good dinner, and get a good night’s sleep,” he signs off.
More Davis Cup
Cup debutant Sam Querrey faces a baptism of fire in Friday’s World Group semi-final opener after drawing world number one Rafael Nadal on clay in front of 21,000 spectators in Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring. In the second match of the day, American Andy Roddick, the world number eight, plays fifth-ranked David Ferrer.
Teenager Juan Martin del Potro will face world number six Nikolay Davydenko on his Davis Cup home debut in Argentina’s semi-final against Russia. David Nalbandian will open the tie for the hosts against Igor Andreev before del Potro, 19, takes on Davydenko.
In Bratislava, Slovakia, third-ranked Novak Djokovic will play Dominik Hrbaty on Friday in the opening singles of Serbia’s Davis Cup playoff.
In Zadar, Croatia, Mario Ancic opens the hosts’ challenge against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in their World Group playoff. In the second singles, Ivo Karlovic has been drawn to play Thiago Alves.
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