India’s Davis Cup captain S.P. Misra on Wednesday questioned the logic behind the demand for his ouster from the Davis Cup team by Somdev Devvarman, pointing out that the player had not spoken up when he had played some of his best matches under him.
A furious Misra questioned Devvarman’s statement that he was not attuned to the modern game.
“I was very upset when I heard that Somdev does not want me to be the captain. He has played some of his best matches under my captaincy,” Misra said.
Indian tennis has been hit by yet another controversy as a core group of players, led by Devvarman, has called for some changes in the way Davis Cup ties are organised in the country. One of the demands is for a change in support staff.
When India played Brazil, Devvarman beat Thomaz Bellucci (then World No. 33), Janko Tipsarevic (then World No. 9) in the tie against Serbia and also defeated Yen-Hsun Lu and Ti Chen of Chinese Taipei in another match.
Misra pointed out that Devvarman got these results when he was captain. “It all looks like Somdev’s brainchild, and the younger players may just be toeing the line. They (Yuki Bhambri, Divij Sharan and Saketh Myneni) should concentrate on their future rather than getting involved in this,” Misra said.
Sports Reporter adds from Chennai
Meanwhile, the story of Devvaraman’s ‘leaked’ letter continued to evoke much discussion around the venue of the Chennai Open with a former Indian tennis legend rubbishing any claims of a “revolt” by the players.
Speaking on the sidelines of the tournament, Vijay Amritraj said: “This is not brain surgery…but a mosquito bite. It’s easy to resolve issues like this. The association needs to generate enough funds to keep the players happy. Only the media is trying to create an issue out of it.”
Amritraj also urged the players and AITA to engage in a regular dialogue to sort out the issues raised by the group led by Devvarman.
“The Olympics controversy was a real issue since some people took a stand on certain things. Now, there is no need for a debate,” Amritraj said.
“AITA and the players should discuss this together (behind closed doors), instead of resorting to something like this (leaking the mail to media).”