Bopanna confident ahead of Davis Cup tie against Brazil

After a dream run at the US Open, where he made the men's doubles final, Rohan Bopanna on Monday said he is confident of giving India a 1-0 lead if he plays the opening singles rubber of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against Brazil.

Bopanna, who arrived here on Sunday from the US, had a light practice session here along with Somdev Devvarman.

"My confidence is high. I got on to the court today itself after a long travel from New York and I was able to hit the ball really good. I have to believe in my game and try and win the first match on Friday," he said.

"This four days of training before the important Davis Cup tie is important and crucial. I will be working on my movements," he added.

India's number singles players Somdev Devvarman said India stand a good chance to get back to World Group although they are not ready to take the Brazilians lightly.

"Rohan and me have been really doing well. We have come out here five days ahead to get ready for the tie. It is a good chance for us to get back to World Group by winning against the Brazilians.

"We are focused to win the tie. They are world class players. Rohan is playing with lot more confidence. I would like to say that we have a very good chance but these guys (Brazilians) also cannot be taken for granted," Somdev said.

Meanwhile, Bopanna made it clear that he is physically fine though it has been about eight weeks on the road.

"It is another one more week on the road for me. I am always ready to work hard. The confidence is there and its levels are high and I am going to take that forward. We are going to work-out together to make sure we can take it from here and save as much energy as possible because the humidity factor is very high here. I am sure, I should be fine physically".

Giving his opinion on the Brazilians and the outcome, Bopanna said "I have been seeing Brazilian players every week on the circuit. Thomas Bellucci and Ricardo Mello are really good and left handed players. It will be as tough tie for us but it is great to have a home tie after a gap of two years and first time on the hard court".

"I have great memories of Chennai since playing at the Junior levels and I have won many titles in this city. Aisam Qureshi and me have lost once in the circuit to the Brazilian doubles pair of Marcelo Belo and Bruno Soares. They are also really good team. It is going to be an interesting tie", Bopanna added.

Talking about the hard court here, Boapanna said "coming from the US Open, I feel the court here is little bit on the slower side. Obviously, it will be a day or two for me to getting used to this court but with the four days practice, I should be fine".

However, Nandan Bal, Coach of the team and S P Mishra, non-playing captain of Indian Squad, echoed the sentiments that it is going to an interesting tie in which Bopanna?s performance would be the key factor.

Nandal Bal said 'we are facing two left handed Brazilian singles players, who are tough on clay and not too sure whether they are good on hard courts. We are hoping for the weather to heat up little more and obviously the crowd support."

"Given all those circumstances, it is going to be a good tie. Our boys are capable enough to put things together and we should be home", he said.

He said "if we are at least one-one on the first day, we are going to be in good shape for winning the tie. The Brazilians, unlike some the countries work as a team back home. Most of the countries are considered as scratch teams as they pull together four players for Davis Cup matches. But the Brazilians work as a team right through the year".

On India having an edge on the hard court factor, Nandan Bal said "there is no question about our boys having greater advantage on hard court than the Brazilians going by their track records."

"Our players have always performed well in Davis Cup much higher than what their rankings suggest. Especially, Rohan?s performance has been spectacular this season in Davis Cup. We are looking to him to pull out the matches in our favour", he said.

"It is a tough tie but we have the advantage of playing at home and the weather is going to suit us much more. If Rohan Bopanna could give us a good start like what he did in South Africa and Russia it is going to be a positive result for us", according to Mishra.

Mishra felt that a 2-0 lead on the first day would be a dream. "If we can win both the singles on the first day. But one all is also alright since we depend a lot on Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the doubles on the second day. Of course, it is not going to be a cake walk for Paes and Bhupathi as the Brazilians pair is also strong team. Our boys have to work harder but we have the confidence that on the second day we will go up 2-1 up if not 3-0", he said.