Rohan Bopanna looks to fare well against Morocco

Lucknow, September 15

Hauling themselves up from World Group II should not be a complicated task for the Indians when they take on the unostentatious Morocco in the Davis Cup home tie, which will be more of a celebration of Rohan Bopanna’s 21-year career in the tournament coming to a halt on Sunday.

When I came into the team, it did not matter who (players) had what differences. In the locker room, that camaraderie was there, no matter what. That is missing. Rohan Bopanna

The lack of singles players who could challenge the big names of the ATP circuit, coupled with defeats in winnable matches, had hurt the Indian Davis Cup team badly in the last few years, but relegation to World Group II in February was a new low. It was for the first time since the new format was launched in 2019 that the Indians dropped to this level. Much has changed since India last played in a Davis Cup tie in March, when they lost 2-3 to Denmark. Indian tennis has had few memorable moments this season until Bopanna reached the US Open men’s doubles final last week.

It’s not just the lack of on-court results in the singles that is disappointing; off the court, the country also felt the disappointment of losing its only ATP 250 event, the Tata Maharashtra Open.

Yuki Bhambri, one of India’s finest players, has stopped playing the

singles format. Ramkumar Ramanathan is languishing at No. 570 in the world. He has made 17 first-round exits at different tournaments, including the lowest rung, the ITF Futures level.

But Bopanna is still playing some solid tennis in the doubles format. At 43, he remains one of the most powerful servers on the circuit. His strokes still have the sting and he can still pull off those stunning passing winners from difficult angles.

It would have been ideal if he had got his farewell tie where he wanted — in Bengaluru — but still, he has a chance to bid adieu to the tournament before India fans. In the 32 ties played since making his debut in 2002, the player from Coorg has won 22 matches, including 10 singles.

India’s No. 1 singles player, Sumit Nagal, is in good form. He comes to the tie after playing the final of a Challenger event in Austria. It was his third final of the season at that level. Unless there is an inexplicable meltdown, he would win two points for India. — PTI

‘The love of playing Davis Cup is missing’

Lucknow: Davis Cup has become just another tournament for the current generation of players and love of playing the World Cup of tennis can’t be seen these days, said Rohan Bopanna ahead of the tie against Morocco. Bopanna didn’t make any bones while admitting the new crop of players are not as passionate about playing the Davis Cup as the ones from the bygone era. “It has become too mechanical to just come, play and leave,” said Bopanna. “There used to be fantastic team atmosphere, which has been kind of lost in the last couple of years. And we need to bring that back,” Bopanna said. “Davis Cup is all about team camaraderie, spending time with the team, being together, everybody coming together. And I think that is a little missing link. We need to bring it back to have a successful team,” he added.