The process to identify the venue for India’s next Davis Cup tie against Denmark began on Thursday with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) reaching out to players to know their preferred surface and potential state associations who could host the matches on March 4-5 next year. (More Tennis News)
India were handed a home tie after three years after the draw pitted them against Denmark for the World Group I tie. AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said captain Rohit Rajpal will speak with the players to know what surface they think would be best suited for the home team.
“We will know in two days’ time where we are going to host this tie. Once we know the players’ choice for surface, we will see which venue would be best for the purpose,” Dhupar told PTI from Indore.
It has been learnt that either Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) or Madhya Pradesh Tennis Association (Indore) can host the tie if the players opt to play on hard courts.
“I feel Delhi will host matches since Delhi has not hosted any big event in recent past. They must be keen to have this tie,” said an AITA official. The Karnataka association is hosting two Challenger events, so it is highly unlikely that the tie will be held in Bengaluru but an official said they can still ‘consider’.
It will be the first tie between the two nations since September 1984 when India won 3-2 at Aarhus. The two teams have not clashed much as the only other time they played was in 1927 when Denmark whitewashed India 5-0 in the quarterfinal in Copenhagen.
Earlier, India coach Zeeshan Ali stated that the outcome of this tie will depend on the availability of the players. “The last time we did not have our number one player with us was when Yuki was down with an injury, said Zeeshan.
“If we have a full-strength team, if Sumit (Nagal) is fit by March and Yuki is also available, we have a very good chance of beating Denmark in India,” he said. Against Denmark, India are supposed to be the favourites.
But except Ramkumar Ramanathan (190th) no other player us ranked in the top-200 in singles. Prajnesh Gunneswaran is ranked 215th while Sunil Nagal is now ranked 218.
(With PTI inputs)
