Serbia start favourites, but Indian captain backs Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman to pull off wins on Day One of Davis Cup clash today
Indian captain Anand Amritraj, Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and coach Zeeshan Ali during training yesterday. Pic/PTI
Bangalore: In cricket the toss makes a huge difference to the eventual outcome of the match, while in tennis the draw gives neither team undue advantage. Both India and Serbia were satisfied with yesterday's draw in the Davis World Group playoff.
Indian captain Anand Amritraj, Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and coach Zeeshan Ali during training yesterday. Pic/PTI
India No 2 Yuki Bhambri begins proceedings at the KSLTA stadium today against Serbia's top gun Dusan Lajovic at 3 pm, while India's premier player Somdev Devvarman will take on Serb No 2 Filip Krajinovic.
Attracting spectators
Davis Cup ties usually have an 11 am start, but the organisers here opted for an afternoon start to attract crowds. The tie is a virtual sell-out with only the Rs 100 tickets still available.
India's Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj gave India a 50-50 chance of winning the tie. "It doesn't matter who we play as both Somdev and Yuki are confident of winning their matches."
The former doubles ace felt playing first is a slight advantage. "Waiting for the second singles to start is the difficult part as you don't know whether you will play at 6, 7 or 8 pm,'' emphasised the erudite Anand.
Yuki charged up
Yuki, meanwhile, is raring to give it his best shot. "I am confident I will give India a 1-0 lead. Glad to play first as you are not kept waiting." Somdev stressed that every rubber will be pivotal.
"Each point is extremely important to us. I feel we are both evenly matched teams. Filip is in the form of his life and will be difficult to beat. I will fight till the very end, as I have been playing good tennis," he said.
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