Seoul, India’s singles players Sumit Nagal and Dhakshineswar Suresh will have to negotiate a slow, low-bounce court and balls that quickly become heavy and fluffy when they take on South Korea in their Davis Cup Qualifier Round 2 tie, starting Friday.
“The balls are getting fluffed up every third game. “We do it too. I mean, we get a lot of teams coming to India and we used to play them on grass courts. But they would have never played on grass courts in their lives.
India captain Rohit Rajpal said the Koreans had prepared conditions that could counter the strengths of both Indian singles players. The balls are making the conditions even more demanding, according to the Indian captain. So, they slow down quite a bit and they become heavy,” he said. Rajpal said dealing with unfamiliar conditions was part of the Davis Cup, where host nations often select surfaces that give them an advantage. So, this is part of Davis Cup,” he said.
“I think that the teams are pretty even. And I mean, they are a strong team to get here. They beat Argentina.
I mean, Argentina is a very tough team to beat,” he said. Youngster Manas Dhamne could also get an opportunity to make his Davis Cup debut, although Rajpal said the decision would depend on how the opening day’s matches unfold. The captain said he was been keen to expose younger players to the pressure of Davis Cup.
