Doubles specialist in doubt for India
New Zealand’s Davis Cup ambitions have been boosted by reports in India suggesting top doubles player Leander Paes has opted out of playing in their tie at Christchurch’s Wilding Park.
Paes, who has won eight grand slam doubles titles, did not feature in the roster announced by the Indian selectors, with Rohan Bopanna now the best ranked player for the visitors.
Each nation is required to declare their team 10 days before the event, and organisers said they had not ruled the 42-year-old out completely as there was still time for Paes and the selectors to change their mind.
At this stage Bopanna, ranked 18th in the world for doubles, will contest the doubles fixtures along- side Saketh Myneni. They will be joined by singles players Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri.
They will face New Zealand’s Rubin Statham, Michael Venus, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak, who have all made strides since beating China in March.
Sitak and Venus will both feature in the main Wimbledon doubles draw with their respective partners, with Marcus Daniell unlucky to lose in the final round of qualifying for the grand slam, which has a particularly strong doubles field for 2015.
Although India would have been early favourites to progress in the Davis Cup, the absence of Paes means they have lost a key player, skilled in turning matches around and an able leader for the younger members of the team.
Last year he played in the World Group playoff tie against Serbia in Bangalore, which India lost 3-2.
In the absence of the grand slam winner, New Zealand will need to take advantage of their consistency and better ranking in the doubles, and make use of a home crowd over the three days.
India coach Zeeshan Ali said the cold conditions in Christchurch would be challenging for the Indian players, who will have a week to acclimatise.
Ticket sales are progressing steadily with the singles matches on July 17 – the same day as the All Blacks test against Argentina in Christchurch – doubles the next day and reverse singles on July 19.
If New Zealand win, it sets up a potential tie against the United States, Switzerland or Germany in September’s World Group playoff.