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Leander confident of his team

Special Correspondent

— Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Leander Paes (right) makes a point at a practice session ahead of the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan.

NEW DELHI: A ligament tear and a bout of food poisoning may have upset him, but that did not deter Leander Paes from joining the Indian team on Sunday to ensure the meticulous preparation for the forthcoming Davis Cup tennis tie against Uzbekistan.

Leander categorically stated that he would be happy to let the boys prove the strength to the opposition in this tie on grass from February 8 to 10.

“I can take the court if I want to and push myself. But then, I will not be 100 per cent ready and I may be risking permanent damage. The good thing is that we have many option for doubles”, said Leander.

Outright favourite

Although Leander rated the Uzbek team highly for its quality singles players he asserted that the Indian team was the outright favourite on grass at home.

He also wondered, after inspecting the shoes that Farrukh Dustov had shown him, as to whether the Uzbeks had got the right grass court shoes for the tie.

“They looked more like clay court shoes,” Leander said.

He had watched Denis Istomin play his first round at the Australian Open and praised him for a solid game.

“He really had a good match against Hewitt. I had watched him in the first round earlier. He plays solid and has a sound baseline game. We have to see how he handles the movement on grass,” Leander said.

Good opportunity

The star of many a Davis Cup tie over the years, Leander said that it was a good opportunity for Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj to showcase their ability.

“It is a good chance for them and I would love to see them grab it. I want them to take over the responsibility,’ said Leander.

The captain was of the view that Somdev Dev Varman could have gained something by giving him the option of judging him in practice by arriving at least a week before the tie.

“I am concerned that he is coming in so late. We do respect his college commitments and the fact that he is travelling from the U.S. He is definitely one of the best singles players we have got,” Leander said.

On personal front, Leander said that he was looking forward to bouncing back into the professional circuit with Paul Hanley. He said that he would review the partnership with the Aussie after the Masters event in Miami.

Leander, however, was clear when queried, that it would be difficult to plan a partnership with Mahesh Bhupathi in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, as it was a tough proposition handling an Olympic year.

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