The young Indian team is not willing to look at its unseeded status when it faces fourth seed Italy in the upcoming Davis Cup World Group qualifier at the Calcutta South Club lawns here.
Prajnesh Gunneswaran, the highest-ranked Indian in the squad, is hopeful that the “underdogs” can cause an upset if his compatriots can produce their best game.
“Our players really need to go out there and play their A game. Every match is going to be very tough, regardless of who is playing.
Difficult
“It does not matter whether it is on grass, clay or hardcourt... it was always going to be difficult,” Prajnesh said after the Indians’ second day’s practice.
Assessing his own and team’s preparation, Prajnesh said the Indians had had enough practice on grass and were ready for action.
“I am playing good and we had enough time to practice on grass. So we are all looking forward to the tie,” he said.
For inspiration, the Indian team will be looking at the 3-2 victory over the visiting Italians by the combination of the legendary Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan, at the same venue in 1985.
Prajnesh, who achieved a career-best ranking of 102 on Monday, said injuries had restricted his progress for a long time but he was now getting his rhythm back.
“I may be called a late bloomer, but the fact is that I was injured for some time and I wasn’t too bad before that as well. So, I think it was unfortunate that I could not get to this level earlier,” he said.
The 29-year-old southpaw said he would be back playing a series of Challengers after the Davis Cup tie.
Slower courts
Coach Zeeshan Ali said he found the practice courts at the venue on the slower side but added that the pace of the court does not count much if the players adjusted to it.
“The whole idea is not so much about how fast or slow the courts are. It is more about how the boys settle in, in terms of movement, in terms of mental approach. It is completely different playing on grass than it is on hard court and clay,” Zeeshan said.
The teams will get an hour each to practice on the match courts from Wednesday.
