The International Federation announced today that the Indian men’s tennis will face a formidable Spain side in the Davis Cup tie at home in September. The Indian men’s team thrashed the Koreans 4-1 in the Asia/Oceania group 1 second round tie while Spain also trashed Romania by 4-1.
India and Spain have faced each other 3 times in Davis Cup tournaments. Spain have a record of 2-1. When both of them faced each last time in 1965, India lost the tie 2-3.
India are in confusion to which court should they play for this important tie that will take place from 16th to 18th September. The players would likely to make their choices by Wednesday.
“They are one of the toughest teams in the world. Anybody out of the World Group is tough. And Spain is a team that has 12 players in top-100. It’s even harder,” Zeeshan told PTI.
“In my opinion, the grass is the option but monsoon will end and we have to see if it is possible to play on grass at that time in September. It’s actually not the season to play on grass and there is not enough time to prepare. It’s not like hard courts. You just can’t put grass on courts, it has to grow,” he said.
“We are discussing the surface with the players. The time frame is only seven weeks. After the players express their choice, the AITA will speak to local federations, who are willing to host the tie,” Zeeshan said.
India will play out of their skins to beat the tough Spain opponents. They have to be at their best to defeat the strong opponents.
This will be their third attempt to enter World Group play-off stage.