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India underdogs in Davis Cup tie

India go in as underdogs in the Davis Cup tie against Italy which gets underway at Genoa on Friday.

India's successes in the competition have come against great odds because of the ability of players like Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes, players who transcended all barriers of form and ranking when it came to playing for their country.

There was the glorious run in 1987, when Vijay led India to the Davis Cup final, beating Argentina, Israel and Australia before losing to Sweden. All the teams that India beat had players ranked in the top 50. Vijay, then 33, had a ranking below 200.

The early 1990s saw Paes, with a ranking hovering around the 100 to 125 mark, produce a string of inspired wins. His victims included Henri Leconte, Goran Ivanisevic, Wayne Ferreira, Jan Siemerink and Jakob Hlasek.

In 1993, Paes, with solid support from Ramesh Krishnan, led India to the semi-final with wins over Switzerland, runner-up the previous year, and France.

On Friday when Mahesh Bhupathi, and Davis Cup rookies Prahlad Srinath and Syed Fazaluddin, lead the challenge against Italy, they go in as underdogs. They are not likely to be a presence, thanks to the absence of the injured Paes.

Coach Enrico Piperno looks at the positive side, though. ''Look,'' he says, ''this is the chance for these boys. You could be witnessing the birth of a new star here.''

Bhupathi has shown he has the Davis Cup fire. His incredible five-set win over Chile's Gabriel Silberstein in the deciding match of last year's playoff is why India is in Genoa today.

The slow, red clay courts at the Deppe Croce stadium, likely to be made slower by some light rain on Thursday morning, are not as much a handicap to Bhupathi and Srinath as it would have been for Paes.

India and Italy have played four times in the Davis Cup. Italy have won on three occasions, all before the current World Group format started, while India has one triumph, when they won 3-2 in the first round match in Calcutta in 1985.

Italy are one of three teams -- Sweden and the Czech Republic are the other two -- never to have been out of the World Group ever.

Srinath will play Italy's number one Andrea Gaudenzi in the opening match. Bhupathi, the Indian number one, will take on David Sanguinetti in the second singles.

The doubles on Saturday will feature Bhupathi and Fazaluddin against Gaudenzi and Diego Nargiso.

The first reverse singles on Sunday will be between Bhupathi and Gaudenzi and the second between Sanguinetti and Srinath.

Indian non-playing captain Jaideep Mukherjea did not give much importance to the draw, but added that since Srinath would play his first match against a very good player, ''he might be a bit nervous''. Srinath's latest ATP ranking is 571, compared to Gaudenzi's 57.

''We were hoping Srinath would play second, since it is his first Davis Cup match and it is away from home,'' Piperno said. However, Srinath himself showed no signs of nervousness. ''I just want to go there and give my best for the country. I hope for the best.''

UNI