IMAGE: Ramkumar Ramanathan holds the key for India in the singles tie on the opening day. Photograph: Kind Courtesy ATP Challenger Tour/Instagram
Despite the absence of their players, India would still fancy it’s chances to register a maiden Davis Cup victory against Sweden in the World Group I contest, starting in Stockholm, from September 14.
India has never beaten Sweden in five attempts in the Davis Cup and has arrived in Stockholm without its best singles and doubles players — Sumit Nagal and Yuki Bhambri — due to different reasons.
Still, the visitors are confident of breaking the trend in the sixth attempt, especially considering that the Swedish line-up is not intimidating.
The home conditions with the medium-speed court on offer, though, would certainly help Sweden more in the indoor tie at the Royal Tennis Hall as India would have preferred a faster court, given the fact that it has big servers.
The indoor courts are usually fast, the ball travels quick since the outside factors like wind do not interfere much in the play.
Ramkumar Ramanathan holds the key on the opening day even as the side is still weighing options for the second singles. The choice has to be between Niki Poonacha and N Sriram Balaji.
Former national champion Siddharth Vishwakarma is an exciting option but he may not get the nod to play a live rubber in a high-stakes tie as he is still raw and needs to be polished for this level.
It will not be a surprise if captain Rohit Rajpal asks doubles specialist Balaji to do the singles duty, just like in the previous tie against Pakistan on the grass court.
Balaji had delivered then, beating veteran Aqeel Khan in Islamabad early this year and he is in good rhythm in Stockholm also.
IMAGE: Niki Poonacha, who beat Nagal earlier this year in Pune, has not played and won much in singles. Photograph: Kind Courtesy ATP Challenger Tour/Instagram
Poonacha is a good talent but it remains to be seen how fit he is after spraining his ankle during practice soon after arrival. He is also more focussed on playing doubles on the Tour. He did beat Nagal earlier this year in Pune but has not played and won much in singles.
Elias Ymer, ranked 238, is Sweden’s best singles player and Ramkumar has not lost to him in two meetings on the ATP Tour. It has never been about talent and skills when it comes to Ramkumar, he just needs to stay calm in pressure situations and back himself to deliver.
Balaji is certain to play doubles on Sunday. Either Ramkumar or Poonacha would be his partner. The combination would depend on the score at the end of day one.
“We have better servers, and our players like to get in, play shorter points but these are medium-speed courts, so we are getting used to it by playing a lot of singles with each other,” Rajpal told PTI.
“If Yuki and Sumit were here, the tie would have tilted towards us, now it’s 50-50.”
“Leo Borg (second singles player) has improved a lot, we are watching him. They have a tough doubles team.”
Asked about Poonacha’s injury, Rajpal said, “He is much better and the physio is confident that he should be fine for the matches.”
The captain said low rankings in the Swedish side is hardly a relief.
“Their rankings are deceptive. They don’t play much outside (on Tour) but they are hitting the ball hard and clean. They look good.”
Borg is ranked 603 and their doubles players Andre Goransson (ranked 66) and Filip Bergevi (ranked 125) are also competitive.
India’s new Davis Cup coach Ashutosh Singh too arrived in Stockholm with proper homework.
He spoke to players who have played against Borg to gather input and also spent considerable time in watching rival players’ videos which should help in devising right strategies.
Ashutosh also spoke with coaches of the new entrants like Aryan Shah to understand the youngsters’ philosophy and game better.
“I think we have a very fair chance,” he said
“But it is the Davis Cup, anything can happen. Rankings are immaterial. But just seeing overall, the kind of form our players are in, I mean coming out of the US Open, being at the Grand Slam level, we have a fair chance.”
The draw will be held on Friday. The first day will feature singles matches while the doubles and reverse singles will be played on Sunday.
The winner of the tie will advance to next year’s Qualifiers while the loser will play World Group I play-offs.
