Indianslookupto Prajnesh forflying startversusSerbs
DAVIS CUP Absence of Djokovic, Krajinovic gives depleted India a chance of winning their World Group playoff tie
India’s depleted Davis Cup squad will bank on the consistency of Prajnesh Gunneswaran to pull the side through when it takes on depleted Serbia in the World Group playoff tie here from Friday. Recentlycrowned US Open champion Novak Djokovic’s decision to opt out of the playoffs along with world No 33 Filip Krajinovic has raised hopes of an equal contest between the teams.
Playing away is still an enormous task for the Indian team, which has landed here without its top singles player Yuki Bhambri and Asian Games men’s doubles gold medallist Divij Sharan.
But the combined experience of the Indian players in Davis Cup is 43 ties as compared to just 14 of the line-up of the home side, something which the visitors would look to exploit.
In the absence of an injured Yuki, a lot would depend on how the left-handed Prajnesh, who won a singles bronze medal at the Asian Games, performs. The 28-year-old won the deciding fifth rubber against rising Chinese star Yibing Wu to help India reach the World Group playoff stage for the fifth straight year.
Prajnesh has shown the mental strength to soak in the pressure and he is confident going into the tie which will be played indoors on clay courts. “Novak is not playing, so everyone else is beatable if we play well. It will be tough. But we have a chance. We need to take the opportunities we get,” Prajnesh said.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, ranked 135, has pulled off some big wins in the last 12 months but consistency has always been his bane. In Jakarta, he lost to a player who was ranked Serbia/Yugoslavia won in 2011, 2014 and 1988 Match 1 Laslo Djere vs Ramkumar Ramanathan India won in 1927 Match 2 Dusan Lajovic vs Prajnesh Gunneswaran
Match 3
Nikola Milojevic/Danilo Petrovic vs N.Sriram Balaji/ Rohan Bopanna
Match 4 Dusan Lajovic vs Ramkumar Ramanathan
Match 5 Laslo Djere vs Prajnesh Gunneswaran
below 400.
For Serbia, Dusan Lajovic, who stunned US Open finalist and world No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro at the Madrid Masters, will lead the challenge and Ramkumar has beaten the world number 56 in the past, at the qualifying event of the Cincinnati Masters last year. But Lajovic is on song right now and is enjoying the best phase of his career.
Laslo Djere, ranked 86, is the second singles player for the hosts and he lacks experience in Davis Cup, having appeared in just two ties before this.
The rest of the three players in the Serbian side -- Pedja Krstin (1), Nikola Milojevic (1) and Danilo Petrovic (0) -- have played two ties between them.
“Our chances remain the Name
Ramkumar Ramanathan Prajnesh Gunneswaran Saketh Myneni N.Sriram Balaji Rohan Bopanna Name Dusan Lajovic Laslo Djere Krstin Nikola Milojevic Danilo Petrovic Singles ranking
135
162 327 665 - Singles ranking
56 86 174 193 233 Doubles ranking
556
384 222 110 30 Doubles ranking
282 Pedja 990 345 228
same. After Novak pulled out, we believe we have a chance,” said India’s non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi.
Rohan Bopanna will be the most experienced player on the courts with 29 ties under his belt.
The 38-year-old will have to use his experience to ensure that India get that doubles point on Saturday. He and N Sriram Balaji played well against Uzbekistan last year. About the indoor conditions, India’s coach Zeeshan Ali said,”It’s very different.”
“The good thing is that there is no outside factor like sun or wind. Indoor clay is a bit unusual for us as there are hardly any tournaments our players play in those conditions. It’s a little more noisy as the sound of the ball being hit vibrates.”
KRALJEVO,SERBIA: INDIA SERBIA