20 September,2016 08:30 AM IST | | V Krishnaswamy
After Spanish thrashing, India needs to focus on improving the quality of singles players in future to give their Davis Cup team more respectability
Sumit Nagal, who made his debut against Spain, very nearly pulled off a great morale-boosting win over Marc Lopez in the recently concluded Davis Cup play-off tie in New Delhi. Pic/AFP
Anything other than a 5-0 result would have been a surprise in the recently concluded Davis Cup play-off tie between Indian and Spain. The gulf in the rankings of the Spanish and Indian players is so huge that it could not have been anything but a whitewash.
Also Read: Davis Cup: Nagal, Ramkumar lose as Spain whitewash India 5-0
Yet in two of the five matches, Indians had a genuine chance of pulling off a point. Sure, if the doubles had gone India's way - India was within a whisker of a two sets to none lead - Rafael Nadal would in all probability have played the reverse singles to close the tie. India lost the doubles eventually, but in the reverse singles, Sumit Nagal, 19, and making his Davis Cup debut very nearly pulled off a great morale-boosting win over Marc Lopez.
India running empty?
So, is the Indian cupboard of tennis players bare or not? Currently it is, but it need not be like that in the future. Nagal, Saketh Myneni, who gave the legendary Leander Paes great support in doubles, and Ramanathan Ramkumar (ranked 203), who snared a set off Feliciano Lopez (ranked 26) all have the ability to raise their game more than a few notches. They may not become Grand Slam winners or even win on ATP circuit, but they could certainly give the Indian Davis Cup team a more respectable look.
Learning from Spain
So, can we learn from Spanish tennis, which in recent years, have seen a lot of turmoil. Yes, and it is more than fitness, grit and talent. India has had no singles player of significance since Ramesh Krishnan though Leander Paes also seemed to come up with magical performances, but only in Davis Cup. That kept India afloat. Doubles with Paes as one half, was India's strength.
India have never won Davis Cup - they have reached the final three times. That was in 1966, 1974 and 1987. Since 1981, when the current tiered system of World Group was introduced, India has reached the final only once in 1987. But they have played in World Group 13 times. However, in the last 10 years, India has figured in World Group only twice, both times losing in first round. So, can India have a chance of doing what Spain has, or at least what some of the less strong countries have? Only time will reveal.
