It's tough to match the achievements of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the Davis Cup but there is now a glimmer of hope for Indian tennis as they prepare for their World Group playoff against The Netheralands. Favourable results from India’s second string just before the September 19 to 22 at Zwolle, which Paes will miss, could mean there is life beyond the Big Two.Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya are making the right kind of noises on the international circuit. Bopanna won the title at the $15,000 Indonesian Futures while Sipaeya took two titles during the week and claimed the $10,000 F3 Futures in Tunisia. These wins have made the two confident.“It has come at the right time. I have been playing a lot recently, and most of them were tough matches. Losses also came against equally good players. But this win has given me the confidence,” said Bopanna.Chandigarh-based Sipaeya’s sentiments too were similar. “Believing in oneself again, particularly after returning from injuries was been satisfying,” he said.On the other hand, Prakash, who in all likelihood would make his Davis Cup debut, it was reaching the semis that tuned him up.With these results coming in ahead of the David Cup tie, India’s non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan said that consistency would be the key factor for anyone to consolidate their position in the team. “Any victory during a preparatory run ahead of a major tournament is always good. But, singles for India has always been a negative point,” he said.“Our problem is coping with the big league. It’s no doubt tough but only those players who can negotiate their way can be successful.” Krishnan feels that now it is up to the youngsters to make the transition to the big stage. “We are quite good in the under-14 section, the under-18s section is also in the race but once out of that group, we are lost in the ocean,” he said.In the last three years, the Indians have drawn seeded opponents in the Davis Cup and there is no doubt that the Dutch will be very tough to handle. “The lower rankings of our players in the singles is a serious disadvantage. Honestly speaking, we don’t have enough people for that,” said a forthright Krishnan.Interestingly, both wins (Bopanna’s and Sipaeya’s) have come after two years, the last being Harsh Mankad’s title victory at Canada. Bopanna, who has played the Davis Cup twice said that he has not played against any current player in the Dutch team but he is confident of facing the challenge again. The Indian had rallied to pull off a drammatic victory for India against Japan in the previous rubber.The performance will be a reminder for the team but they cannot rest on past luarels. Beating the Dutch will be “a high task, but then hope is what everyone has to believe in,” said Krishnan.
