By IANS
New Delhi : India’s non-playing captain Leander Paes Thursday picked young Somdev Varman ahead of experienced Prakash Amritraj to play the singles in the crucial Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan starting Friday.
Justifying his move that surprised many, Paes said the chief reason for preferring the US-based collegian to make his debut was he was an ‘unknown quantity’ for the Uzbeks.
Rohan Bopanna will spearhead the singles challenge as the number one Indian player while Prakash, the highest ranked Indian, will feature in the doubles Saturday alongside Mahesh Bhupathi.
In the opening singles, 287th-ranked Bopanna will play 265th-ranked Farrukh Dustov, but the Indian is expected to win on grass. Somdev will have no pressure on him as he plays the highest ranked player in the tie Denis Istomin (184).
“Somdev comes with an X-factor as the Uzbeks have never played him before. Physically, he is one of the fittest players in the team and can play on all three days. His college regimen has made him a complete athlete,” Paes said after the draw.
“The positive thing is that he (Somdev) is determined and fearless and deserves to play the tie. The entire team is supporting him,” he added.
The 35-year-old non-playing captain said after consulting all the team members it was felt that this was the best combination for the first day as it gave Prakash more time to return to match fitness.
“I have always believed that Davis Cup is a team effort and we need to spread the responsibility to every member over the next three days. I had to look at the selection in totality,” Paes said.
Somdev, who plays his tennis at the University of Virginia, was the US collegiate champion last year and has begun well this season.
The Uzbeks expressed their astonishment over Paes’ choice with Istomin saying that though he is happy with the draw, he is surprised to see Somdev being preferred to Prakash.
Asked whether he was taking a risk by opting for inexperienced Somdev instead of Prakash, Paes said: “No it’s not a risk. Prakash’s physical condition needs an extra day to recover and partnering Mahesh in the doubles will provide him the opportunity to get his rhythm back.”
He also seemed pretty optimistic about Friday’s score-line, saying: “Tomorrow is a big day for us in office. I believe Somdev and Rohan will put us 2-0 up”.
Paes said Somdev’s match against Istomin Friday is evenly poised as both of them are solid baseline players.
“Like Somdev, grass is not Istomin’s favourite surface. Moreover, he (Istomin) is not a serve and volley player. Two baseliners on grass is definitely going to be a 50-50 game,” said Paes.
The 22-year-old Tripura lad, who is making his debut for India at the World team event Friday, also seemed ready for the task ahead when he said that he does not feel any additional pressure.
“I feel pressure brings opportunities. I am very excited to play in the national colours tomorrow,” Somdev said.
Meanwhile, Bhupathi, who returned to the national side after skipping last year’s tie against the same opponents, will be teaming up with Prakash for the first time in his career. However, he said that it would not be any problem and he hopes to see the hosts pocketing the tie by the end of the second day.
“I have played with both Prakash and Rohan at practice and I am gelling well with both of them. We really think we should be 3-0 up on Saturday,” said the World’s 19th ranked doubles player.
The Davis Cup rules these days are so flexible that the players could be substituted an hour before the match and if need be Bopanna could even play the doubles on Friday with Mahesh and let Prakash be kept fresh for the singles against Istomin on Sunday. But Paes and Bhupathi hope it will be a dead rubber by Sunday.