The draw for the Davis Cup tie will be made on Thursday, but both India and Denmark opted to keep their options open for the first day matches, when the captains interacted with the media on Wednesday.
“We are very happy with the preparation. We have practised well. Am not going to tell who I am going to play,” said the captain of Denmark, Frederik Nielsen, Wimbledon doubles champion.
He viewed the courts at the venue as ‘old school grass’ and said that it played ‘pretty fast’.
“It is advantage India but I like our chances. We try to play to win. We are leaning on Mikael Torpegaard who has played at a high level in the last few years. I have faith in my whole team,” said Nielsen, as he pointed out that 18-year-old Elmer Moller was the future and there were two college captains, Johannes Ingildsen and Christian Sigsgaard, ready for the battle.
Even though he plays only doubles in the professional circuit, captain Nielsen said with a touch of humour, “If I play well and if the captain asks me, I can play singles also. Who knows!.”
Pressure
The India captain Rohit Rajpal conceded that there was pressure on the team and him as there were high expectations with India playing at home on grass.
“I am very happy. We got here early. The players are match sharp as they have been playing tournaments. They hav practised well here,” said Rajpal, particularly pleased with the way Yuki Bhambri has been shaping up.
“We have decent singles players and good doubles combinations”, said Rajpal, quite pleased about teaming Bopanna and Ramkumar for the first time in the Davis Cup against Finland.
“They lost two tie-breaks. But they went on to win two ATP doubles titles this season in Adelaide and Pune. We have options now for doubles also”, said the captain.
Superb organisation
The organisation for the event has been world-class, and Rajpal credited everyone associated with the game for rising to the occasion.
“We are all very excited. It is a great effort by Gymkhana Club. The administrator Om Pathak has carefully addressed every single detail. It is grass, so we will have strawberries and cream as well”, said the captain, as he touched upon the Wimbledon tradition.
Expecting a strong home crowd to be at the arena which has an excellent setting for the centre court, with a seating capacity of 3800, Rajpal stressed that the fans would have “a very enjoyable experience”.
It is time to cheer, “Come on, India”.
Referee Ali Katebi, amazed at the stage set for the tie, said the teams would get to practice for one hour on the centre court from 12 noon on Thursday.
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