India tennis veteran Naresh Kumar has been there, done that. He represented India at the Davis Cup where he beat Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli in the late 1940s. He also went on to successfully lead and reshape Indian Davis Cup tennis as the non-playing captain in the 1990s. Kumar spoke to mid-day at South Club yesterday ahead of India's Davis Cup World Group Qualifier against Italy that begins today. Excerpts

On India's chances v Italy:
Italy are favourites for this fixture, but they will be under pressure because historically they have not been comfortable on this surface. On the other hand, the Indians are relatively inexperienced but they are improving. So, it will be an interesting tie.