Davis Cup: India run into Spanish armada

Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez pose with home boys Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni at the Davis Cup World Group playoff draw ceremony in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: Biplab Banerjee)

In what will be a David vs Goliath clash, India run into star-studded Spain for a place in the Davis Cup World Group at the RK Khanna Stadium here from Friday.

While Spain are European powerhouse in the game, India have been consistently knocking on the World Group doors. Desperate to return to the elite, Spain captain Conchita Martinez named a strong team with 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, world no. 13 David Ferrer, no. 18 Feliciano Lopez and doubles specialist Marc Lopez, despite being aware that the home team’s top two experienced singles players — Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman — are out with injury.

To make matters worse for the hosts, Rohan Bopanna also pulled out of the tournament a few days ago.

With young bloods Saketh Myneni (ranked 143rd) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (202nd) shouldering the responsibility in singles, the tie will be an uphill task for the home team. Leander Paes is the most experienced for the hosts and his tips can come handy for the team.

Coming into the tie, India beat Korea 4-1 in the Asia/Oceania Group I contest to reach the playoff stage while Spain beat Romania by an identical margin in the Europe/Africa Group I.

The 28-year-old Myneni had a fruitful US Open outing where he qualified for the main draw and gave a tough fight to Jiri Veseley before cramping up and bowing out of the Grand Slam. He can be the one to watch out for after Paes, but there’s no two ways that Nadal will steal the limelight in this tie.

Nadal vs Ramkumar This is the first time in 51 years that Spain have travelled to India, providing a rare chance for players and fans to experience a top-class unit in action. The last time India and Spain met was in 1965 when the hosts won 3-2.

Nadal will start the proceedings on Day One against Ramkumar while in the second rubber, Myneni will be up against Ferrer. “I’m excited to play one of the best players of all time. We have to keep the first few games close and play some aggressive tennis. I need to play with a lot of forehand and attack his forehand, play as deep as possible and of course serve well,” Ramkumar said.

Added Myneni, “If we can win a rubber on Day One and level the scores... it will be huge boost.”

On Day Two, Paes will combine with Myneni to face the Lopez duo.

“Playing a tie away from home is always complicated. We are taking this tie very seriously and look to get back to the world group,” Martinez said.

Humidity worries for Spain Rain on Wednesday increased the humidity, adding to the visitors’ worry. The matches are scheduled under floodlights which ensures the heat can go down but not the humidity. This can be an advantage for the hosts.

“We are used to playing in different conditions but here the humidity is higher than anywhere else I have played. So we need to be fit,” Nadal said.