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India, Pak clash in ATF tennis tourney

Defending champions India, led by Mahesh Bhupathi, will take on Pakistan tomorrow in their opening match in the second ATF team championship tennis tournament, which begins in Delhi today with last year's runners up Korea clashing with Thailand.

The 84,000-dollar tournament will see, apart from top seed India, seven other Asian nations -- China, Korea, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Pakistan -- vie for top honours in the championship to be played on a knockout basis.

In the other quarterfinals tomorrow, the formidable Uzbeks, led by Oleg Ogorodov, will meet China, while Chinese Taipei will play against Indonesia.

Leander Paes is ruled out for the tournament because of an injury in his left heel that he suffered on Friday during the world doubles championship at Hartford.

Other members of the Indian team are Davis cupper Prahlad Srinath, Syed Fazaluddin and Vijay Kannan. Jaideep Mukherjea is the non-playing captain.

The first and second semifinals will be played on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, while the finals will be held on November 27.

The winners will receive a cheque for 30,000 dollars while the runners up will get 14,000 dollars. The losing semifinalists will receive 10,000 dollars each and the quarterfinalists 5000 dollars each.

Leander Paes is undoubtedly the country's top tennis player and if injury rules him out for the Bangkok Asian games the team's chances are surely going to be affected, feels Davis cupper and his doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi.

''It is almost impossible for any other player to fit into Leander's shoes,'' Bhupathi told

''The players have to work very hard in the absence of Leander,'' he said.

A bone spur in Leander's left heel on Friday has raised a question mark over the top Indian star's fitness before the Asian Games.

According to non-playing captain Jaideep Mukherjea, Leander's name was being sent for the Bangkok Asiad. The news was that Leander would be fit before the games, he said.

Bhupathi said the present Indian tennis scenario has improved considerably in the past couple of months, adding that a lot of young players are picking up the sport in the country.

''The future of the sport is very bright with many Indian players rising up in their rankings on the circuit,'' he said.

Bhupathi said it was unfortunate that the 'doubles powerhouse' had to depart unceremoniously from the Hartford championship because of Leander's injury.

''Had we won there we could have ended the year at the top. But we are not disheartened and definately hope to end as the top ranks next year,'' he said.

Speaking on the current ATF Asia cup tennis tournament, which gets underway in Delhi today, he said the Indians, who are also the reigning champions, are confident of defending their title.

''Leander's absence here will definitely affect us as we are likely to face a tough challenge from the Uzbeks, led by Oleg Ogorodov who is ranked above us in the ATP rankings,'' he said.

Asked who will be pairing with him in the doubles in the absence of Leander, Bhupathi said: ''Syed Fazaluddin will be the one. We have also paired with each other earlier when we had played a Davis cup tie against Italy.''

He said the team for the current event, comprising Prahlad Srinath, Vijay Kannan and Fazaluddin (including him) is a good one and can definitely hope to successfully defend the title.

''Srinath and Fazal are good players and together we hope to give the other teams a good opposition,'' he said.

Asked about the DLTA courts, he said the Indians stand a good chance on them since they have played a lot of matches here and have a lot of experience.

''The courts are good,'' he said.

On the change in format from the round robin to the knock out, Bhupathi said it would be better since it allows no margin for error. ''One has to be at his best to survive in this type of format,'' he said.

Asked if the tournament will be helpful for the players as they are likely to meet the same teams in the Asian games in Bangkok Bhupathi said, ''It will definitely be beneficial.''