The Hindu : Uppal joins Davis Cup team

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2003

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Uppal joins Davis Cup team

KOLKATA MARCH 31. Vishal Uppal got a fresh call up to the Indian Davis Cup team as the All India Tennis Association announced his induction on Monday evening as the fifth member of the team that is scheduled to play New Zealand in the Asia Oceania group I second round tie at the South Club from Friday. Uppal now joins the existing team of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna and Harsh Mankad, led by captain and coach Ramesh Krishnan.

Known to be a doubles specialist, Uppal has played for the country on two occasions earlier. He partnered Leander Paes both times playing against Korea in 2000 and Australia in the World group qualifiers in September last. Uppal's recent performance in the doubles — where he won two back-to-back ITF Futures titles partnering Harsh Mankad in the last two weeks — might have prompted the national body to consider his re-induction.

Meanwhile, the Indian team captain Ramesh Krishnan had two long sessions of practice with the younger members of the team — Bopanna, Mankad and one of the reserves Sunil Kumar Sepiya — on Monday. It was made known that the two key players of the team — Paes and Bhupathi — are scheduled to join practice on Tuesday and the day after respectively.

Krishnan said that he was happy with the current form of the team and felt confident about wrapping up the tie. He went on to add that the visitors are not to be taken lightly as they have a fair balance of youth and experience and are also used to playing on grass while reminding that the Kiwis have a better head-to-head record of 3-1.

The New Zealanders too slogged it out long hours trying to acclimatise to the city's heat and humidity of the city, which as their captain Glenn Wilson put it would be the crucial factor determining his player's fitness during the tie. New Zealand's practice will gain extra momentum as its lead ranker, Mark Nielsen, joins the team on Tuesday. — Our Sports Reporter

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