Indian Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali hoped the great dressing room atmosphere prompted by a “genuine fellow feeling” in his team will prove good against a tough opponent like Serbia, which India plays in the World Group play-off tie at Bangalore in the second week of September.
“There is a genuine fellow feeling among the players which make it a great team. I have never seen such great camaraderie among the players in my career both as a player and as the coach,” Zeeshan said during a function he hosted to celebrate the 75th birthday of his father and former Davis Cupper Akhtar Ali.
“Davis Cup is not an individual event and hence a great team spirit is what that brings out good results, which already showing in our performance,” Zeeshan said. “We do not have the advantage of playing on grass anymore so it is very important that the team remains mentally strong and gives its best. We have seen in the past that rankings really don’t matter in Davis Cup,” he added.
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“Serbia as a team is better ranked than us with the world’s top ranked professional like Novak Djokovic being a part of the team. It will be a very tough match but if everyone in the side contributes his best then we can hope to make a match out of it,” Zeeshan said adding that the Indian team will assemble on September 7 to prepare for the match against Serbia, which starts on September 12.
Zeeshan, who was named the Indian coach in January 2013, said the great atmosphere in the Indian team is created by the openness of its highest ranked player Somdev Devvarman. “Somdev is very open and that is helping the team evolve as a winning outfit. As a coach I can guide them and with Somdev taking the lead all the players are willing to learn and give in their best effort,” Zeeshan said.
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The coach said that Somdev’s recent slump in rakings is temporary as he has the talent and the fitness to regain his winning rhythm. “Somdev may not be winning that many matches but he is playing very close matches against the top players of the world. He just needs to get over the minor hurdles to pull up big wins, which I hope will happen in Bangalore,” Zeeshan said.
About Indian non-playing captain Anand Amritraj joining the team, Zeeshan said the former Davis Cupper is the kind of captain “with whom the players always feel comfortable.” Zeeshan said he and Anand together “bring to the table the experience of playing lot of Davis Cup matches and this will help the team in crunch situations.”
Zeeshan, who has never won the Arjuna Award, said he felt greatly honoured for being nominated for the Dhyanchand Award for lifetime achievement. “This nomination I think is recognition of my contribution to Indian tennis,” he said.