The Hindu : Sport : Dev Varman to challenge the Uzbeks

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Sport

Dev Varman to challenge the Uzbeks

Kamesh Srinivasan

Rohan Bopanna to take on Farrukh Dustov in the opener

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

ALL SET FOR ACTION: Somdev Dev Varman will make his Davis Cup debut for India against Uzbekistan in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: He should have made his Davis Cup debut a year ago, but for being stopped on the way in New York for want of adequate visa documents to travel to Uzbekistan then.

Somdev Dev Varman, with the rare honour of being the only Indian to be crowned the NCAA singles champion in the U.S., will make his debut on Friday against Uzbekistan on grass at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here.

The Indian non-playing captain Leander Paes has mastered the art of leading the team, especially after having tackled the earlier ties with limited resources.

He was delighted to have the choice, for a change. He played his cards so well that it must have been a surprise for those expecting him to take the beaten track.

By opting for the 22-year-old Dev Varman, Paes ensured that his spearhead Rohan Bopanna would be the No. 1 for the tie, and would take on the Uzbek No. 2, the 6’5” tall Farrukh Dustov, who may find it tough to bend for the half-volleys on the slow and low bouncing surface on the opening day.

The Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, who made a brilliant picture as she covered her eyes with her left hand while drawing the lots from the bowl at the draw ceremony, obliged the Indian skipper by pulling out Bopanna’s name to play the first singles on Friday in the Asia-Oceania Group ‘I’ tie.

Various factors

“We had taken various factors into consideration before arriving at the decision. The idea was to spread out the responsibility to the whole team. The attempt was also to put the best team on the first day,” Paes said as he stressed that the selection had to be looked at it in totality.

“I am looking forward to playing the first match and give India a 1-0 lead,” Bopanna, who has some good memories of the venue, said.

If anything, Dev Varman had impressed the captain with his positive attitude, work ethic and strong character.

“It is a great opportunity for me. It will be good to go after Rohan,” said Dev Varman, quite relaxed and trying to imbibe the pressure to bring out the best from himself.

Prakash for doubles

For sure, Prakash Amritraj may have been upset at being asked to start on the second day with the doubles in partnership with 10-time Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi while he was itching to assert himself in singles on day one.

However, the skipper has quite judiciously preserved Amritraj for the third day, as the nominations can be changed without assigning reasons for the reverse singles.

He has given Amritraj an additional day’s rest from work to help him recover fully from his stomach ailment.

If the Uzbeks play their best and win a couple of matches which they are quite capable of as they are toughened professionals on the Tour, Paes would still be left with his best player in best shape, ready to assert his class in tackling a possible ‘live’ fifth rubber.

“Our target is to be 3-0 up on Saturday,” said Bhupathi, quite comfortable with Paes’s methods, as he emphasised that he was gelling well with both Amritraj and Bopanna.

Uzbeks surprised

The Uzbeks were understandably surprised with Dev Varman being thrown at them on the first day, but reiterated that they would try to play their best on the foreign surface irrespective of the opposition across the net.

Dustov admitted that he would have liked to play the second match on the opening day, but that it was fine with him to open Uzbekistan’s challenge against Bopanna.

It was smart thinking by Paes, but as he himself put it aptly, a captain is only as good as his team. By ensuring two baseliners play the second rubber, Paes may have perhaps ensured that the soft court would last the distance!

The draw: Friday: Rohan Bopanna vs. Farrukh Dustov (10 a.m.); Somdev Dev Varman vs. Denis Istomin. Saturday: Mahesh Bhupathi & Prakash Amritraj vs. Farrukh Dustov & Denis Istomin (noon). Sunday: Rohan Bopanna vs. Denis Istomin (10 a.m.); Somdev Dev Varman vs. Farrukh Dustov.