Davis Cup... but who cares?

Chennai clueless even as Lee-Hesh & co gear up to take on brazil over the weekend for a place in the elite world group

On the flight to Chennai, this reporter was in for a rude shock. A fellow passenger, Arpit Agarwal, nonchalantly asked, "What's the Davis Cup.'' I was taken aback as one thought that everyone knew about the most famous men's team tennis competition.

He went on to ask: "Is it only played in India?" I shot back that is played all over the world. What's more he did not know that Brazil had a tennis squad. "I know they are famous for their samba style of football.''

He went on to ask about the format. Patiently I explained to him that two singles are played on the first day, doubles on the second, followed by the reverse singles on the final day.

He broke into a huge grin and confidently stated that India must win at least three of the five rubbers to prevail in the World Group playoff... I nodded, "Yes, 3-2, 4-1 or even 5-0.''

After getting his first lesson about the Davis Cup an exuberant Agarwal stressed: "Yes we should at least win by a 4-1 margin against the Brazilians. Everyone knows what Rohan (Bopanna) and Aisam (Qureshi) achieved at the recent US Open in New York.''

Forget tennis, Agarwal went one step better when he didn't even know how the Mumbai Indians messed up on Tuesday night from an insurmountable position in the Champions League T20 in South Africa.

"No clue where they were playing or in which competition they are participating.''

At Chennai's domestic airport the city was blissfully unaware about the India-Brazil Davis Cup tie at the Nungambakkam Stadium.
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At the arrival lounge, a huge signboard greeted you, 'Welcome to Chennai, home of the Super Kings.'

Paes' second home
If it's Chennai, it has to be Leander Paes. The mainstay of the Indian Davis Cup team,u00a0 spent his formative years at the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy.

"I love coming back to the city. It is like a second home to me. I have fond memories at the juniors and later of course I won a couple of doubles titles at the ATP Chennai Open,'' said Paes.

"You can't take the Brazilians lightly. Thomas Bellucci has played before at the Chennai Open.

He has a pretty big game and has done well on hard courts recently.
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Ricardo Mello is a bit of an unknown quantity but he has shown his prowess on clay,'' said Paes, adding: "Rohan Bopanna's performance at the US Open is a big shot in the arm for Indian tennis.

I am sure he will play the doubles in future."

Non-playing captain SP Mishra ruled out the possibility of Bopanna playing in the doubles rubber.

"Mahesh and Leander will definitely play the doubles. Rohan has to play two singles rubbers and a third rubber will be too stressful for him. But his outstanding performance in New York gives us a very good option in future.''

Brazil's non-playing captain, Joao Zwetsch said that although the Indians enjoy a huge home advantage, they were well prepared and acclimatised to the conditions having arrived in Chennai on Saturday.

Close finish
"We are preparing very hard to get used to the humidity and the Plexipave courts.," Zwetsch said.
Meanwhile, Bellucci denied that the Indians hold the edge. "We do favour clay surfaces, but I've been playing well on hard courts recently."

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