The All India Tennis Association may have given the thumbs-up to Delhi Lawn Tennis Association’s proposal to host India’s Davis Cup World Group play-off match against Spain under lights, but the decision has not gone down too well with Mahesh Bhupathi.
“I don’t know the reason, actually. I would like to know the justification for why the matches are in the night,” said Bhupathi, after inaugurating a table tennis tournament here on Monday.
“I have spoken to a couple of boys and they obviously prefer to play in the day because the heat will hopefully be of a little bit of a benefit to the team. Seriously, these decisions should be taken after speaking to the team,” he said.
The decision to host the matches — to be played in New Delhi from September 16 to 18 — in the evening is reportedly to bring in more spectators. But, considering the importance of the match, Bhupathi said India ought to have tried to utilise the home advantage to the fullest.
“It’s a very, very tough match. Spain has so many players in the top-100. They have so many options. We will have to play out of our skins, and we need everything to go in our favour. That’s why playing at the right time and on the right surface is something we should all think carefully about,” said Bhupathi.
Bhupathi also minced no words in criticising the men’s doubles team’s lack of preparation ahead of the Rio Olympics, which culminated in a first-round exit for of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna.
“The doubles team was obviously under-prepared. There was no preparation, so under-prepared is out of the question. No preparation is the right description, I think.
“They (Paes and Bopanna) didn’t practice, they didn’t play together.
“In 2004, when Leander and I were not playing together on Tour, we always came together to play a couple of tournaments, and that is what the Olympics demands. We had won 300 matches together and we still made an effort to do it.
“This year they went in cold. A match against a [depleted] Korean team is not the way to prepare for the Olympics.” “The mixed-doubles was our best shot, but unfortunately they lost in the semis,” Bhupathi said.
