NEWS
MATCH REPORTS
DIARY
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
PEOPLE
ARCHIVES

India unaware of change in Davis Cup surface

There seems to be some confusion about the nature of the playing surface to be used for the Group A Davis Cup relegation match between India and England, slated for Nottingham between September 25 and 27.

All India Tennis Association general secretary Ramesh Desai had said, on July 17 that "At home, the ongoing monsoon season will linger till end September, and Indians will have to practise on grass since that will be the surface they will be meeting Britain on."

But recent media reports in England suggest that the surface may be different.

The Guardian of London, for instance, carried, under the title Lloyd brushes up on paint technology, that reads, in part, "Some people paint the town red, but David Lloyd, Britain's Davis Cup captain, is planning to paint Nottingham's courts green. Britain are due to play India in a World Group qualifying tie at Nottingham in September, and Lloyd is prepared for all eventualities. The Nottingham tie will be staged on a cement court outdoors, like those at the US Open, but if it rains the matches may be moved indoors. So Lloyd, who has been studying the form of India's Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi at Wimbledon, said: 'I'm having extra coats of paint put down on all the indoor courts to make them the same speed as the outdoor ones. Modern technology is wonderful. Did you know that you can now paint cement courts to make them exactly the same speed, indoor or out? I've got to keep Greg (Rusdeski) and Tim (Henman) happy."

That seems to be that -- painted hardcourts, not grass. When contacted, Ramesh Desai told Rediff On The Net that the AITA doesn't have any idea about the change of surface. "Actually, they should inform us one month in advance about the surface they will be providing for the tie".

Asked about AITA's stated position that there will be no training sessions organized, and that the players will be expected to arrange for their own practise, Desai clarified that as all the players are busy playing abroad, "we thought it advisable not to have any trials or camps for the tie. Besides, it is not needed as we retained the team which played the last tie."

The problem here is that we are banking on just Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati to help India avoid relegation. It's only when calamity strikes, as happened last time, that we wake up. It is not comforting to know that India is an injury away from being totally lost, with no backup plan.

In this context, one recalls Mahesh Bhupati fuming, during the last Davis Cup week, that the side didn't have four players to get up a decent doubles game for practise.

Just about the only silver lining would be that both Leander and Mahesh have begun their hardcourt practise, and are expected to get even more, in the lead up to the US Open.