Davis Cup: Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna's 'bonhomie' key for India in 'unfriendly' conditions of China

As the Indian Davis Cup team is huddled over in unfriendly territory and unseasonal chilly conditions in Tianjin, China, they are taking comfort in the familiar warmth of their doubles success. Leander Paes, hoping to create a record for most doubles wins in Davis Cup, isn’t giving doubles partner Rohan Bopanna the cold shoulder anymore. The 44-year-old has been posing for happy selfies with Bopanna and long-time adversary Mahesh Bhupathi, who is also the non-playing captain, in an attempt at team bonhomie. They have been frequently at war with each other, but in the hostile conditions in China, the three will be drawing on each other’s experience and strengths to coast the team over. [caption id=“attachment_3365080” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Leander Paes (L) and Rohan Bopanna. AFP[/caption] With India’s top-ranked singles player Yuki Bhambri sidelined due to an abdominal injury, doubles is the one bankable point against China in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tie, which will take place on Friday and Saturday. Paes and Bopanna haven’t always been able to combine well in doubles, but they will start overwhelming favourites against the Chinese pair of Di Wu (ranked 186) and Mao-Xin Gong (257). Bopanna is the highest ranked doubles player in the tie at 19 while Paes currently stands 45 in the world. The Indian duo is a full 24 years older (aggregate age) than their Chinese counterparts and is a few light years ahead in terms of big-match experience. “They are ready to secure the doubles point on Saturday,” Bhupathi confidently sounded off on the eve of the tie. China threw in a curve ball on Thursday, as they elected teenager Yibing Wu as their second singles player. Yibing (ranked 332) created quite a stir in the tennis world by winning both the singles and doubles boys’ titles at the US Open in 2017. Standing at 6'0, the 18-year-old is the next big hope for Chinese tennis and they have chosen to throw him right into the deep end in the team competition. Yibing, who has won both his singles matches in Davis Cup so far, will begin proceedings against India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan on Friday while Ze Zhang (ranked 247) will take on Sumit Nagal in the second singles of the day. In Bhambri’s absence, it might be down to Ramkumar to seal the singles points. The big-hitting Indian reached a career-high ranking of 132 and has, in the past, shouldered Davis Cup responsibilities well. Nagal has also been in good form, beating former top-20 player Marcel Granollers in a Challenger event last week, but is mainly untested in the team competition. He has played only one match, against Spain’s Marc Lopez in the World Group Playoff in 2016, as lost from a winning position. But the former Wimbledon junior doubles champion has shown he has the athleticism to take on the men’s game. Nagal, who also recorded the career-best ranking of 213 this week, and Ramkumar were playing a clay tournament in sunny Marbella, Spain before they headed for the cold hard-courts of Tianjin. “The conditions are very slow here so the clay helped them and they are both hitting the ball well,” added Bhupahi. “Hopefully Ram will get us off to a good start, which will help the team.” Changes in the Davis Cup format in Zonal ties, beginning this year, have meant that the matches have been truncated from five sets to three. The shorter matches level the playing field somewhat, giving lower-ranked teams and players a better shot at victory. Coach Zeeshan Ali believes it’s a “massive disadvantage,” for the Indian team in the Asia-Oceania zone where they are one of the better teams and have players with considerable five-set match experience. The Indian team, that reached Tianjin on Sunday after a three-hour flight delay, ran into some unexpected weather turbulence in the week. Usually at a comfortable 20 degree celsius during this time of the year, the temperatures have plummeted to single digits. On Wednesday, the team had to shift their practice to indoor courts because of snow. “It’s 4 degrees in Tianjin and thanks to the wind it feels like -2 .. wonder if this was factored in for an outdoor tie. This takes “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” to a whole another level,” Bhupathi had tweeted on Tuesday. There are little signs of things brightening up on the first day, with Friday’s weather forecast set at a maximum of 9 degree Celsius. On Saturday, with the doubles and reverse singles scheduled, hopes will once again be pinned on Paes and Bopanna to get the team off to a winning start. Though the two have struggled to get along, and the rift has reflected in their performances in the past, the Chinese team doesn’t possess enough ammunition to test their newly reformed bond. Paes will also be looking to crown his illustrious Cup career by scoring the most doubles wins in the competition. He is currently tied with Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli at 42 victories. A lot of those wins, 25 in the company of Bhupathi, have given the team hope in faraway lands, in alien conditions. As it may well do in China. Draw: Friday (6 April): Yibing Wu vs Ramkumar Ramanathan Ze Zhang vs Sumit Nagal Saturday (7 April): Di Wu/Mao-Xin Gong vs Rohan Bopanna/Leander Paes Ze Zhang vs Ramkumar Ramanathan Yibing Wu vs Sumit Nagal