Tennis kids beat Oz at junior Davis Cup

‘‘It was a team on a mission’’, coach/captain Sandeep Kirtane told The Sunday Express.

‘‘I guess when one is determined, like this lot was, the rest is basically a formality.’’

The boys, he said, were ‘‘amazing, it was a pleasure seeing such commitment.’’

Analysing the team, Sandeep made special mention of each one. Jeevan, from Chennai, was solid in the backcourt and the backbone of India’s campaign in his maiden show in the tournament.

Rupesh (from West Bengal and part of the National Tennis Academy) was a fighter, Kirtane said, ‘‘very aggressive and patient’’ and delivering when it mattered most. Chandigarh lad Sanam (also from NTA, who played two doubles with Rupesh) was an ‘‘excellent team man’’.

‘‘It was tough for me to select between the three of them, because all of them are good singles players,’’ said Sandeep, adding that Jeevan and Rupesh were preferred because they were more comfortable playing on clay. Incidentally, both Rupesh and Sanam (along with Sumit Gupta) were part of the Indian squad that finished runners-up last year.

However, Sanam fell ill and could not make it with the Indian squad for the Davis Cup finals, which paved the way for Jeevan.

Having had ‘‘the time of their life,’’ their next mission is the Junior Davis Cup world Finals at Barcelona to be played from September 4.

Their target: doing better than 15th place, the best finish they have ever had. Says Sandeep, ‘‘a Top 10 finish is surely on cards. Till then this performance is something to party about.’’