The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Leander Paes happy with the court

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Thursday, Mar 03, 2005

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Sport - Tennis

Leander Paes happy with the court

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2. The home advantage is a key factor in Davis Cup competition, and having been forced to play in a refrigerator of an indoor court in Langfan City four years ago, the Indian captain Leander Paes was not hesitant in expressing his satisfaction about the nature of the centre court at the R. K. Khanna Stadium here on Wednesday.

"It may play fairly quick and not have a high bounce. It looks tailor-made to suit my style of play. Hope it holds up on Sunday'', said Leander, on the eve of the draw for the Asia-Oceania group 'I' tie.

A few patches may mean a bit of an uneven bounce which may unsettle the visitors most of whom are used to playing on the true-bouncing hardcourts round the year.

When asked whether it was a big advantage that a seasoned professional of his calibre would be playing the fifth rubber, Leander shot back saying that he would like to see the contest wound up at 3-0 on the second day itself.

The 31-year-old Leander who made his Davis Cup debut in 1990, once again emphasised that both Harsh Mankad and Prakash Amritraj stood a fair chance of getting the nod to open the campaign on Friday.

"My aim is to put the two best singles players there. Prakash's game is tailor-made to suit grass. He serves big and can play the chip and charge as well. Having said that, Harsh has come after winning the British Satellite. So, I have options on my hand'', said Leander.

On a lighter vein, Leander observed that the one thing that was sure, was him playing the doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi on Saturday.

On being probed whether he would like to take the back seat and put both Prakash and Harsh to tackle the singles on the first day, Leander was non-committal.

"This is my surface. This has been my stage for 16 years. But then, it is not a Leander show. The best team would play. All the four are ready to play singles and doubles. The boys are eager to share the responsibility'', said Leander.

On his part, Mahesh said that there was no room for complacency even when it came to playing the doubles against a relatively novice team.

"When it comes to Davis Cup, nothing is to be taken for granted. China is not a pushover. We have to be ready to jump on them when the bell rings'', said Mahesh with a fine sense of humour.

Both Prakash and Harsh observed that they had seen the Chinese on the Tour and that they would try and do their best, given an opportunity.

The Chinese said that they were getting used to the conditions, especially the grasscourts, and were quite happy about the fine weather.

The experienced Zhu Ben-Qiang complained of a back pain in the morning and was taken to the doctor in the Sports Authority of India.

"His back was injured. We have two days to see how he improves'', said the Chinese captain Xie Zhao.

On being countered whether it meant that the veteran of many a battle, Zhu Ben-Qiang would only play the doubles, the Chinese captain, understandably reluctant to reveal his singles players, corrected himself to say that the injured had only one day to recover.

The draw will be made by the Prime Minister at his residence on Thursday morning, and the two teams will get to play on the centre court later in the day.

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