Shanghai :
India’s No.1 singles player Somdev Devvarman and doubles top gun Rohan Bopanna have given the latest appointee to the country’s Davis Cup squad – non-playing captain Anand Amritraj – the thumbs up.
The former ace, ranked as high as No. 74 in singles and 24 in doubles in the 70s, will take over the reins for India’s next assignment, the Asia Oceania Group I opener against Chinese Taipei to be played in Indore in January.
The 61-year-old Anand, a one-time chess prodigy who went on to win 12 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, most of them in tandem with younger brother Vijay, is widely acknowledged as a keen tennis brain. He even reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1976. Somdev, ranked 95 in the world, said, “Anand was a fantastic player for India, he’s a great choice for a captain. His knowledge of the game is vast. I have a lot of respect for what he has accomplished. A lot of us have been in touch with him for a number of years and he comes around and watches our matches whenever he can. I look forward to playing for him. We’ll give him our best.”
Somdev, who led a players’ revolt which saw the country’s best players put up a unified front in expressing their displeasure at the functioning of the All India Tennis Association, forced the federation to replace Shiv Prakash Misra with Anand. Zeeshan Ali will stay on as coach. “The goal is to get back to the World Group,” Somdev said, speaking for his team, “I want to get on with the job and get us there.”
Bopanna, who will likely partner Pak’s Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi on the Tour next year, welcomed Anand into the squad. “It’s great to have Anand as Davis Cup captain. He’s very enthusiastic, very knowledgeable about the game and understands how tennis is played today.”
Mahesh Bhupathi said, “Anand has a great tennis brain and a world of experience to fall back on. He brings a lot to the table. I played under him in the Asian Games.”
Leander Paes told the media that he hadn’t given much thought to the appointment. Paes learnt his craft at Amritraj’s BAT academy in Chennai.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Tennis> Somdev Devvarman / by Prajwal Hegde, TNN / October 13th, 2013
