Davis Cup Ties Are Won Through Singles, Says Vijay Amritraj
Vijay Amritraj refuted Somdev Devvarman's claims that India's Davis Cup camaign rests solely on the doubles tie.
Former India ace Vijay Amritraj today disagreed with country's top singles player Somdev Devvarman's take that India's Davis Cup chances against the mighty Serbia will hinge on doubles pair of Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna. (Telangana government felicitate Sania Mirza)
"Let me put it this way. You cannot win a Davis Cup tie solely depending on doubles. You would rather lose 1-4! But you can win a Davis Cup match with good singles performance. There are four singles matches.
The bottomline is you have to win three out of five rubbers. It doesn't matter how you do it," a forthright Vijay said in an exclusive interview ahead of the marquee clash on Friday. (Davis Cup: India get set for battle royal vs Serbia)
"I think the key element will be winning one of the first two singles on the first day. We have to win one of those... which I think we can," younger of the two Amritraj brothers, said ahead of the launching of his Reserve Wine Collection with Grover Zampa Vineyards in Bangalore on Friday.
On Yuki Bhambri playing the first singles, Amritraj said he would have ideally wanted Somdev play the first match and beating the Serbia's No 2 player.
"I would have loved to see Som playing the first match and we go up 1-0. That would have been be the ideal script I would have liked to write."
Yuki will open India's Davis Cup campaign against Serbia, drawn against visiting side's No 2 player Dusan Lajovic for the first singles match.
Asked whether he agrees to Devvarman's comments that India's chances hinged on gaining a point in the doubles, Vijay said it cannot win any team the tie because there are four singles matches compared to only one doubles.