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Moment of truth for Indian tennis

Polly Wilson

1999: great year on the Tour; quo vadis Davis Cup?

Even while Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi were rocking the world in the last year of an eventful millennium, there was trouble knocking at Indian tennis' door back home. Sunny Melbourne, romantic Paris, traditionally rich Wimbledon and breathtakingly brisk New York, the boys had it in them to make it to the finals of all the four Grand Slams, even win two.

But Indian tennis is known to be associated with something more...our success in this king of racquet games has always been measured in terms of Davis Cup glory. That is where we slipped, almost took a free-fall. Now, this weekend, our moment of truth beckons once again.

As Leander Paes and his merry band moves to far less illustrious Lucknow for a zonal Asia-Oceania tie with no more than ordinary Lebanon, it marks the beginning of a new campaign towards the tournament's World Group. Without the injured Mahesh Bhupathi, whose shoulder is set to keep him off the court for at least another two months, but with former partner Ramesh Krishnan as the new non-playing captain, Leander and his side should make it through fairly easily. But then, the second string will have to rise to the occasion in Bhupathi's absence. And with the guys that make it up, one really never knows.

After consecutive losses to Italy, Britain and - the hardest cut of all - South Korea at Seogwipo City, India finds itself at a rather weak Davis Cup footing at the moment. Last April's win against China at Calcutta's South Club was little consolation. With a new skipper and a new-look side, the time is just right to put the past behind and drink up some essential dregs of confidence with a bashing of lowly Lebanon.

Ramesh Krishnan's appointment as Davis Cup captain has come as a breath of fresh air. With Jaideep Mukerjea failing to motivate the side for almost a couple of years now, he did the best thing by stepping down himself, rather than being shunted out. Krishnan is a man with better tennis credentials, eager to give back something to the sport he so ardently pursued; and, judging by a couple of practice sessions he has carried out this past week in Delhi and Lucknow, has the look of a man on a mission.

And that he had better be, for he has some tough choices to make in the next couple of days. Like who to play the second singles, besides Leander, and who to pick as the India No 1's partner for the all-important doubles. He has to choose between Prahlad Srinath, Syed Fazaluddin and Sunil Kumar, India's new 16-year-old sensation. Keeping the recent records of the trio in mind, it could be a tough one to call.

Fazaluddin is known to be a grass-court player. He played a key singles against China at Calcutta and partnered Leander during the 1999 Asia Cup; all factors that go in his favour, and will perhaps help him get the nod.

Srinath, on the other hand, is basically a clay-courter who prefers to stay behind the baseline for most part of the match. "Grass is an attacking player's game," Ramesh Krishnan had said in Delhi recently, "I have been asking the players who play from much behind the baseline to try to brush up their chip-and-charge game too."

Though he did not take any names, the Indian skipper was naturally referring to Srinath. It seems unlikely that Srinath will take the court in singles, but he - with his recent final appearance with Saurav Panja at the Gold Flake Open's doubles competition - may well make it alongside Leander for Saturday's key doubles.

As for Sunil, who has been playfully complaining about the late hours the others in the team tend to keep, this Davis Cup tie is just meant to be a learning experience. The National champion is still considered 'raw' for the big-stage. It's unlikely that he will actually play, unless Ramesh wants him to hit a few balls on the final day, only in case India has already secured the tie.

What will still worry the Indians deep down, however, is the mystery the Lebanese team holds.

Ramesh Krishnan had joked in Chennai last month, "I didn't even know tennis was played in Lebanon." Leander, more knowledgeable in this case, says, "The only tennis player I've seen from Lebanon is the Hamadeh boy. I really don't know too much about the others." So, the element of surprise, if it does prove to be a factor, will be firmly in the visitors' favour. They, No 1 player Hicham Zaatini, his deputy Ali Hamadeh and non-playing captain Reymond Kattoura, give their side a 30-70 chance as of now; even though a more realistic estimate -- expecting Paes to win all his three matches -- would put it as 80-20 in India's favour.

The City of Nawabs will be at its freshest this weekend. The grass of the Oudh Gymkhana is in the best shape it's been in for a quarter of a century, when Vijay Amritraj led India against New Zealand way back in 1975. If Lebanon succeeds in giving India a surprise this time around, it will be the nastiest one Indian tennis has got in a long, long time.