Yuki Bhambri’s decision to pull out of the Davis Cup has met with mixed reactions from the tennis fraternity.
The junior Australian Open champion, who was almost sure to make his Davis Cup debut against Chinese Taipei from March 6, has opted out in favour of an $15,000 ITF Futures meet (March 2-8) in Texas where he got an exempt to play in the main draw.
Faced with such a scenario, the selectors inducted promising youngster Sanam Singh into the squad. The five-member squad also sees the return of Rohan Bopanna who was dropped for India’s World Group encounter against Romania. Bopanna, world No.320, will shoulder the singles’ burden along with Indian No.1 Somdev Devvarman.
Elder statesmen Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi will of course only play the doubles. Sanam, who defeated Yuki in an ITF meet in Chennai this year, would be the reserve singles player. Non-playing captain SP Misra makes up the sixth
member.
According to Akhtar Ali, former Davis Cup coach and a current selector, Yuki missed a valuable opportunity to rub shoulders with the giants of the game. “He was our first choice. But it’s also true that he wouldn’t have been able to play a game unless there was an extraordinary circumstance. Nevertheless, he would have got some quality practice with blokes of the calibre of Paes and Bhupathi.
“In India’s Davis Cup history, no one has ever been thrown into a game on debut. All our past and present illustrious players have been inducted in this fashion. Banking on their experience, they have went on to flourish for their country,” said Ali.
But former Davis Cup captain Naresh Kumar felt Yuki’s decision was based on sound logic and has its pros and cons. “It’s true that Yuki lost out on a chance to get some tough practice. But he wouldn’t have got a game and that must have ruled his move. After all, there is no parallel for match practice when you are an emerging player. To me, it’s a 50-50 choice and I give him the benefit of the doubt,” Kumar said.
Former junior Wimbledon champion Ramanathan Krishnan felt Yuki did the right thing. “It’s his personal choice, but I am inclined to think that playing a tournament would be a better choice than cooling the heels on the sidelines. Granted that he lost out on valuable tips from two of the best in business but times have changed and nowadays it’s important to stay in shape and be match fit,” he said.
