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After a good showing at Wimbledon by the Indian contingent, the Indian men’s team heads to New Zealand for the second round of the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1 Davis Cup tie. The singles duty would be taken care by the duo of Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri while the doubles would be played by Wimbledon semifinalist Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni.
Having received a bye in the first round, this would be the first match for the Indians this year. India narrowly missed out on a world group spot last year losing to Serbia 3-2 at home. The team would be raring to put that defeat behind them and secure a world group play-off berth. However, their task may not be an easy one.
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Home advantage for New Zealand
Firstly, the tie is being held in the middle of the harsh winter in New Zealand. Despite being an indoor court at the Wilding Park Tennis center in Christchurch, the Indians will have to acclimatize to the cold conditions that would involve temperatures in the single digits.
Apart from the home conditions, it is also important to note the victory that Kiwis secured in the last round. They defeated a much more fancied Chinese team who had players ranked much higher than them.
On paper though, India are the hands down favorites for the tie. But as has been said frequently, Davis Cup matches rarely go by that order as players manage to pull that extra mile while representing their nation. On the singles front, New Zealand’s squad does not look a match in terms of the rankings with Jose Statham ranked 345 as the highest ranked player and Michael Venus ranked 548 as the second singles player. In comparison, Devvarman is ranked 148 while Yuki is ranked 151.
Despite the huge gap in rankings, Michael Venus has been a regular on the doubles circuit of the ATP tour and has the experience of playing at the top level. In fact, Bhambri partnered Venus to a third round appearance in the 2014 Australian Open.
On the doubles front, New Zealand are the stronger of the two teams. Of the players representing, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak are both ranked in the top 100 of the doubles ranking. If need be even Michael Venus ranked 44 can take the responsibility in the doubles tie.
That leaves us with question: What are India’s chances and how do the players fare in terms of their opponents?
Resurgence of Somdev Devvarman
Somdev Devvarman started the year failing to qualify for the Australian Open but emerged triumphant at the Delhi challenger to defend his title. From then on as the clay and grass court seasons progressed, the Indian failed to progress at tournaments succumbing early in the qualifying stages of the Grand Slams. However, returning to hard courts Devvarman performed incredibly well last week to win the Winnetka challenger.
During the course of the tournament, the Indian beat higher ranked opponents and played a marathon final to win his second trophy of the year. This bodes well with his Davis Cup preparations and is a boost for the Indian squad before the tie.
Topsy-Turvy year for Yuki Bhambri
On the other hand, Yuki Bhambri has had a mixed year so far. Starting off on a high by qualifying for the Australian Open and reaching the finals in Delhi and Samarkand, Yuki failed to qualify in Paris and London. With a return to hard courts for this match, the Delhi lad would be rearing to get back in form to help secure a world group play-off spot for India.
On the doubles front, the experience of Rohan Bopanna would be crucial for India and could serve as the deciding point in the tie. Saketh Myneni has also climbed up the rungs in singles and doubles. With a singles ranking of 198 and a doubles ranking of 171, Myneni would be a important player in the doubles match-up. His performance could well determine which way the doubles point may swing.
All-in-all, it appears that the Indians will have to perform well against the home team in alien conditions and secure a world group play-off spot.
The schedule for the tie is as follows:
Friday 17th July
Michael Venus vs Somdev Devvarman 4:30 am IST
Jose Statham vs Yuki Bhambri
Saturday 18th July
Marcus Daniell/Artem Sitak vs Rohan Bopanna/Saketh Myneni 7:30 am IST
Sunday 19th July
Jose Statham vs Somdev Devvarman 4:30 am IST
Michael Venus vs Yuki Bhambri
