Davis Cup 2017 - India

[prasen9]

Paes was a singles specialist doubles player. Or we can say like McEnroe he was both our #1 singles and doubles player. Somdev played doubles in the Asian Games despite not playing that much doubles and won the gold. Singles players playing doubles for their team in team events is nothing new.

[knarayen]

Paes was a singles specialist doubles player. Or we can say like McEnroe he was both our #1 singles and doubles player. Somdev played doubles in the Asian Games despite not playing that much doubles and won the gold. Singles players playing doubles for their team in team events is nothing new.

I agree the use of a pinch-hitting doubles player along with a specialist is nothing new, but it was more of an exception than the norm for the past several years. Maybe, moving forward, this could become more a norm than an exception,and eventually the specialist doubles player could disappear, giving the DC captain the greatest flexibility.

[PKBasu]

Prof, Nadal and Federer already demonstrate this quite clearly, having won Olympic doubles gold medals, and regularly playing singles AND doubles for their nations in crunch Davis Cup matches.
Similarly, at his peak Leander was our top singles and doubles player. Briefly Somdev was capable of filling that role. Currently Yuki is the only player in the team who has both played in the main draw singles of a Slam twice and made the R3 of a Slam in doubles. So, in theory, he fits the bill for us as a singles and doubles player, but his fitness and endurance is always the biggest concern. Similarly with Saketh. That is why we often have to fall back on our best doubles pair to secure us a guaranteed point in a tight encounter.

[Sin Hombre]

Any of the US based people here interested in going to the tie vs Canada? I know the location isn't announced yet, but the dates are September 15-17. PM me if you're interested & we can try to plan together...

Please keep me in the loop.

[prasen9]

Yes, there has been players who regularly played three matches and carried their Davis Cup team on their shoulders. Leander has done it for us. Only now am I hearing that our players are so fragile that they cannot even play two matches in three days and so we really need a potential backup for them. I am not a big fan of unfit players.

[jaydeep]

Anand's call on the tie.

Beating Canada difficult but not impossible, says Anand Amritraj

[jaydeep]

Another good piece by Kamesh Srinivasan ..........

Our champions are flawed genius, we need to respect their pride

For sure, Mahesh had a big serve, a huge backhand and a menacing forehand. But, Leander had the legs and the tenacity to outwit him. And the ability to charm the media! This was one difficult part to digest.

Over the years, Mahesh had always looked up to Leander, even though the latter would tease him endlessly, especially through the media interactions, questioning his fitness time and again. And possibly the lack of gratitude for getting his international career launched in such style, without much investment!

It was nearly impossible to tackle the guile of Leander. Mahesh, who speaks his heart straight, had exploded at times, unable to sustain his silence.

Even as he got the best out of his partners on court, Leander got their bad side out, off the court, leading to considerable friction. It had something to do with Leander’s personality. He was the king of everything he surveyed. Without that attitude, he could not have won that Atlanta Olympics singles bronze medal in 1996.

However, it was not just Mahesh but a bunch of players who were unable to digest the methods of Leander over the years, but could never pin him down. Thus, it was only natural that Mahesh was viewed as the leader who can win them justice, at some stage.

Mahesh as the captain had every right to choose his team and he had made it clear at every stage, and had been very polite and considerate to Leander. He did not have to prove it to the world, by releasing the text messages.

But, if you have a young captain who had played the circuit only last year, you do not expect the maturity of a Naresh Kumar or a Ramesh Krishnan.

The good thing is that Leander has been stung badly. As a player he is quite content with what he has achieved with his limited game! He has played in seven successive Olympics that no tennis player has ever done. It is also the highest by an Indian sportsman. His Davis Cup record is imposing. In fact, for all the talks that he is playing for the record, Leander does have the record for the highest number of doubles wins in Davis Cup.

In such a back drop, one should admire the hunger of Leander to compete in the small Challengers to stay alive in the circuit, even though it means considerable loss of money. He has to endure so much after being used to the big league for so long. But, the last thing a champion like Leander would want is anyone’s sympathy.

Without their pride, the champions are nothing. It is something we often forget.

For all his services, and the way he has been getting the results, Leander feels that he deserves to walk into the team as a matter of right. It is unfair to remind someone of the numbers in the ranking game, for, all his life Leander has been defying the numbers.

Even as Bopanna has consolidated his position, by winning the ATP Masters title in Monte Carlo, Leander is fighting hard in the Challengers, winning two of them in Leon and Tallahassee. There are still three more Grand Slams, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, before India plays its World Group play-off Davis Cup tie against Canada in Canada.

If any of us is busy writing the last lines for the brilliant career of Leander Paes, we will be exposing our ignorance about the superman of Indian sports.

As fans who enjoy all their achievements and feel proud about them, we need to educate ourselves to accept the flaws in our champions, be it Mahesh or Leander.

It is impolite to ask them to behave !

[Varma]

That was a very well written article, indeed! Probably one of the best analytical pieces written about the saga of Indian Express.

Even as he got the best out of his partners on court, Leander got their bad side out, off the court, leading to considerable friction. It had something to do with Leander’s personality. He was the king of everything he surveyed. Without that attitude, he could not have won that Atlanta Olympics singles bronze medal in 1996.

Even though I am not sure if these points apply to all champions as Kamesh claims, they impeccably summarize this enigma called Leander Paes.

All our champions have flaws. If you remove the flaws, the whole structure could collapse. The flaws make them, as much as their better qualities!

- Varma

[sameerph]

It is now more or less confirmed that davis cup matches will be played over best of 3 sets subject to approval at ITF AGM.

Davis Cup singles to be shortened to three sets

It will still be played over the course of 3 days though. Overall, it is a bad move but I think it will benefit our players who generally struggle in fitness levels.

[jaydeep]

The World Group play-off tie against Canada will be held on an indoor hard court at Edmonton, Alberta on 15-17 September.

Edmonton to stage Canada's tie with India

[PKBasu]

Should be an exciting tie. Hopefully Raonic will not play, immediately after the USO.
If Yuki and RamK are fit and playing their best, we should have a lively tie.

[Prashant]

OK, who plans to go? I've PMed a few people that expressed interest earlier. Let me know if you want to see beautiful (?!) Edmonton...

[Varma]

They have Pospisil (ranked 76) and Shapovalov who is top 200 and is 16th in the race to Milan. Add Polansky (ranked 123), Nestor (20 in doubles), and Shamasdin (42 in doubles) to the mix and they have a very competitive team. Playing them at home is no mean task. Yuki in current form might be good enough to get at least a win, but I am not so sure of RamK's abilities at such a high level. Realistically in my books, we have about 25% chance of winning this tie. I will be glad to be proven wrong.

- Varma

[Florian Buechting]

OK, who plans to go? I've PMed a few people that expressed interest earlier. Let me know if you want to see beautiful (?!) Edmonton...

I will be there... Last tie on old DC rules. Arrive Thursday at about noon, leave Monday early morning (both via Vancouver...)

[PKBasu]

I would say RamK is a transformed player after his win over Dominic Thiem. We can expect one singles win from him (or possibly even two).