With wet conditions caused by incessant rain adding to the challenge, Leander Paes today said the team that adapts quicker will have the edge in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group-I tie between India and South Korea starting here tomorrow.
“I think that tennis on grass is more technical, so the one who adjusts to these conditions faster, is going to have a big advantage,” Paes said here today.
According to the local meteorological department’s director, Surinder Paul, more rains are likely to occur in the city over the next three days.
Ramkumar Ramanathan will take on Seong-Chan Hong, ranked 427, in the first singles match here tomorrow.
“We were hoping that it would turn out like this where Ram gets to play the first match. Also, we were thinking about whether Lim would play doubles or not. It will be interesting to see how the weather holds out and how the matches eventually get played. But as a team, we are ready for any situation that arises,” Paes said.
About wet conditions here, Paes said, “We have played in wet conditions before, especially when we played against Switzerland in Kolkata. We had rain literally all through Thursday night and on Friday morning when we got out there the court was really soft and damp. Being grass, we need to take care of that court really well.”
Rohan Bopanna, who will pair with Paes for the doubles match scheduled on Saturday against Hong Chung and Yunseong Chung, said the host is not taking the visitor lightly.
“As far as doubles goes, we have to play our best tennis. I don’t think we were looking at any particular players (of the opposition) that we wanted to play with. They are a very good team. We have to play some good tennis.”
Korea’s non-playing captain Gap-taik Ro was also concerned about the weather.
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