By IANS,
New Delhi : Even as Japan succumbed to a 3-2 defeat against India in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 Davis Cup tie, veteran Takao Suzuki is nursing dreams of playing in India again.
“It is big a thing to play in a Davis Cup, so to lose here is really disappointing. Hopefully, I will be there when the team comes here next time,” Suzuki said.
The 32-year-old draws positive out of the tie considering that both Kei Nishikori and Go Soeda made Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj sweat for their wins.
“It was just the matter of converting one or two breaks. It could have been anybody’s game. Nishikori is young and was making his Davis Cups debut. This has been a good experience for him. But I do feel if we had two or three more days to practice on grass in India, we could have performed better,” he said.
“It is not easy to play here. The heat really affected our players,” Suzuki added.
The DLTA centre court for this tie earned praises, but according to Suzuki the court gave a hard time to the Japanese players.
“The court looks great on the surface. But when I played there, I felt that the bounce was quite uneven. The ball was coming like a wave,” he said.
Asked whether a uniform court for Davis Cup would ensure a fair tie, Suzuki said: “Well, that is what you call a home advantage. Had the tie been held in Osaka, Indians would have had a hard time. They had lost when they had played in Japan last time.”
Suzuki said that India’s chances in the World Group play-off would depend greatly on the draw.
“Indians are very competent at home. So if they get a home tie, then it would be an advantage,” he said.