MAKE no mistake, India's Davis Cup win against South Africa in Johannesburg yesterday could well mark the beginning of another era in Indian tennis.
u00a0
ADVERTISEMENT
MAKE no mistake, India's Davis Cup win against South Africa in Johannesburg yesterday could well mark the beginning of another era in Indian tennis.
Somdev Devvarman's stellar performance means that India goes into the elite World Group after a gap of 11 years.
The win also assumes greater significance as it came without any major on-court contribution from Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who have carried the burden of India's expectations for so many years.
While the win is itself worth celebrating in isolation, the weekend has provided a resounding answer to the question: 'After Leander and Mahesh who?' Somdev has proved beyond doubt that he will be India's lead player for Davis Cup competition in the years to come.
Leander and Mahesh will continue to be the "seniors" that motivate and guide the team (not to mention give India crucial wins in doubles), the onus will now be on Somdev and his mates Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri to win the singles matches.
The team now has the right balance of experience and youth - serve/volleyers and baseliners, grass court players and hard court players; introverts and extroverts!u00a0
So how good is Somdev? Can he crack the top 100? Can he really compete against the big boys? These are questions that will once again surface in the weeks to come.
Personally, I have to admit, I didn't think too much of Somdev when he was a junior player coming up the ranks in Indian tennis. However, his stunning transformation and results in US collegiate tennis and his subsequent sharp rise in the ATP rankings have made me eat my words (which I have happily done).
Not many people realise that his back-to-back singles titles at the National US collegiate championships is a record that no American (let alone a foreigner) has achieved.
He is the antithesis of the traditional Indian player. He does not serve and volley, he does not have the 'touch' that Indian tennis players are famous for, he is strong and extremely fit physically and mentally and he displays a calm confidence bordering on arrogance that has so far been missing from Indian tennis players barring the exception of Leander.
His strength lies in wearing down his opponents from the baseline (the match against Rik De Voest was ample proof of that) and in his solid baseline game which he has honed right from his early days on the clay courts of Chennai.
His ranking is already hovering around the 130 mark and a few good weeks should see him get close to the top 100 mark.
From there on in, he will need to add a few more dimensions to his game, the most important one being a weapon which can fetch him easy points. This will become crucial as he starts climbing the rankings and plays the "big boys"
However, a player is only as good as his team and Somdev is lucky that he now has Rohan and Yuki who played crucial parts in giving India's victory.
Rohan has always had the game to beat the top players, but has come up short on many an occasion. His emphatic win on the first day against the South African No 1 not only gave India that crucial 2-0 lead, but in my opinion destroyed the confidence and morale of SA's singles players.
Yuki has also had to come off a long layoff due to an injury which resulted in him missing the French and Wimbledon junior championships. Captain SP Misra made the right decision to blood him for the final match and Yuki showed remarkable poise, confidence and focus to carve out a nice three-set win in the dead rubber.
This experience will stand him good stead in the years to come when he will be required to don India's colours not on Day Three but on Day One of Davis Cup ties
But that is in the future. For now, let's savour the victory and hope that the Indian Davis Cup teams gets due recognition and accolades it so richly deserves.
The write is a former India Davis Cupper
u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
