NEW DELHI: India's No. 1 men's singles player, Ramkumar Ramanathan, was seen serving big at the Delhi Gymkhana on Thursday. The organisers were checking the speed gun and Ramkumar was giving them the perfect trial for the machine before the India-Denmark World Group 1 Playoff tie to be played on Friday and Saturday.
The fast, zipping grass at the Gymkhana – a venue specifically chosen to give the Indian team a home advantage against the Danes – is perfect for Ramkumar's preferred serve-and-volley game. It is a style that the Indians are more comfortable with.
"We know the conditions better, which gives us a slight edge. Ramkumar has been practising a lot here (at the Gymkhana club). He knows the track very well," was India's non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal's assessment.
On Thursday, the draw ceremony for the tie was held and Ramkumar (ranked 170 according to latest ATP rankings) was drawn to face Christian Sigsgaard (ranked 824) in the first singles.
"Ramkumar gets on first, we were looking forward to that and hopefully he will give us a good start," said Rajpal. "That takes the pressure off the second guy who's coming on."
And the 'second guy' would be Yuki Bhambri (ranked 590), who has been drawn against Mikael Torpegaard (ranked 305) in the second singles match. Denmark's chances took a major blow last week when their top-ranked singles player, Holger Rune (ranked 88), pulled out of the tie.
Bhambri's current ATP ranking doesn't tell the entire story. Once regarded as the brightest hope for Indian tennis after he won the 2009 Australian Open junior title, Bhambri has been plagued by injuries. The Davis Cup tie is a comeback of sorts for Bhambri, who has endured a recurring knee problem since 2018. Last year, he made a comeback in February at the ATP 250 Singapore Open after being two and a half years away from the sport, but in April he was struck with Covid and consequently the knee problem (tendonitis) surfaced again. Bhambri, now 29, had to go for a surgery.
That he hasn't thrown in the towel yet speaks volumes of Bhambri's mental fortitude. That conviction in his game will be important against the Danes. "I feel I am hitting the ball really well. It is all about building my confidence from here on. At this moment, all I want to do is enjoy my tennis," Bhambri, a former world junior No. 1, said.
It won't be easy against the 6-foot-4 Torpegaard, who has come to India with a "I have nothing to lose" mentality. "I really like the idea of embracing the underdog role and play a little more freely. It's not often you get to take your chances. This will be one such opportunity," Torpegaard said. "We will see by the end of the tie which side the grass is greener."
On Saturday, first the doubles match and then the reverse singles will be played. India has fielded the pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan to take on Danish captain Frederik Nielsen and Johannes Ingildsen. Nielsen is a former Wimbledon men's doubles champion (in 2012) and a skilled grass court player.
"The pressure will be on India as they are considered to be the favourites for this tie. We've not come here to just make up the numbers. We've come here to cause an upset, and even if we win it won't be the biggest upset in the history of the competition," Nielsen said.
Although the pair of Bopanna and Ramkumar have won two ATP doubles titles this year, Rajpal decided to go with Sharan – a southpaw who has previously teamed up with Bopanna.
"We're trying to take some pressure off Ram. The idea is to give him space to recover for the reverse singles rubber if it is required," Rajpal said.
A victory for India will mean they're going to compete in the World Group 1 stage later this year. India have never fallen down to the Group 2 rung before in the competition.
THE DRAW
Match 1: Ramkumar Ramanathan (singles ranking 170) vs Christian Sigsgaard (singles ranking 824)
Match 2: Yuki Bhambri (singles ranking 590) vs Mikael Torpegaard (singles ranking 305)
Match 3: Rohan Bopanna (doubles ranking 32) and Divij Sharan (doubles ranking 142) vs Frederik Nielsen (doubles ranking 98) and Johannes Ingildsen (doubles ranking 557)
Match 4: Ramkumar Ramanathan (170) vs Mikael Torpegaard (305)
Match 5: Yuki Bhambri vs Christian Sigsgaard (824)
