Venue is world class, but …

But match referee Jeremy Shales thinks otherwise. ‘‘I think this can be world class in terms of court quality,’’ he said. ‘‘The bounce is good, even the brown patches actually have grass on them, but it needs to grow more.’’ He, however, added that for a World Group tie, things need to be improved. ‘‘There is some work to be done, if it has to host a major tie,’’ he conceded.

In the Hall of Fame

The win against Uzbekistan took India to the World Group playoffs, but the the good news doesn’t end there for a country obsessed with individual milestones. Leander Paes is overall joint 8th in the Davis Cup Hall of Fame. With an astonishing 74 wins in the event — both singles and doubles — he happens to be second most successful player among the active Davis Cuppers. In his 15 years on representing the country, Leander may have seen several highs and lows, but this is one target that would stand out for the sheer grit and determination it represents.

… problems exist

If there were to be a major tie, say against Australia or Great Britain, the media center at the Jai Club needs a complete revamp. With just a couple of computer connections and the communication facilities erratic or non-existent, this will pose a major headache for the organisers.

‘‘This, when there are only about 20-odd Indian mediapersons around. Imagine what will happen when there are 100,’’ said ITF supervisor Kay Fairweather. The most striking aspect of the facilities here is that the club does not have a properly demarcated area for the media, the players’ dressing rooms and the administrative offices.

As if this is not enough, there is a major worry about the security. ‘‘The players haven’t complained but the access to players is so easy that every one is allowed everywhere,’’ she added.

In the wrong shoes

The Uzbeks have generated quite a curiosity with talks about the lack of grass court shoes. Team captain Vadim Kutsenko, however, decided to put to rest the speculation. ‘‘I have been reading about this, yes, but that is not true. All of us have grass court shoes that we bought from Singapore, except for Akmal Sharipov,’’ he said.

On being asked whether the shoes they have are useful and really suited to grass, Kutseko replied: ‘‘Well, we said we wanted grass court shoes and we got these, so if they are not, well, I don’t know. That’s it.’’

— Uthra Ganesan

THE LIST
Nicola Pietrangeli
Nicola (Italy): 120
Ilie Nastase
(Romania) 109
Manuel Santana
(Spain) 92
Gottfried Von Cramm
(Germany) 82
Alex Metreveli
(Russia) 80
Esam Abdul-Aal (Bahrain)
77 (Still active)
Balazs Taroczy (Hungary) 76
Tomas Koch (Brazil) 74