New Delhi, Mar 5 (Tennis News) Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved three match points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to prevail against a fighting Danish pair of Frederik Nielsen and Mikael Torpegaard as India kept its place in the Davis Cup World Group I by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Play-off tie, here on Saturday.

Sharan, playing his first Davis Cup tie since February 2019, and Bopanna came from behind to win 6-7 (4) 6-4 7-6 (4) in one hour and 58 minutes.

The tense win ensured that India will stay in World Group I for the 2022 season while Denmark will now again go back to World Group II.

Serving to stay in the match in the 12th game of the decider, Sharan faced three match points but the Indian team held nerves to save all, two of them on second serves, to force a final tie-breaker, in which they raced to a 4-1 lead and sealed the win when Torpegaard could make a return on Bopanna's serve.

This is India's first win since they beat Pakistan 4-0 in November 2019 when Rohit Rajpal took over as non-playing captain. After that India lost to Finland (1-3) and Croatia (1-3) in away ties.

The reverse singles have been rendered inconsequential now.

Bopanna's big serve was at work since the beginning as he started off with three consecutive aces for an easy hold. Torpeggard and Nielsen too were sharp and solid even as Sharan's serve was put under pressure.

In both the third and seventh games that Sharan served, he was down 15-30 but somehow managed to hold.

Nielsen's smooth-actioned serves and precise placings combined with Torpegaard's firepower made it a tough contest for the home pair. Nielsen did not lose a single point on his serve in the entire opening set and that made a huge difference.

There was no break of serve in the opening set and a tie-breaker was required. Bopanna lost the first point on his serve and the Danish team opened up a huge 5-1 lead from where Torpegaard found a volley winner on Sharan's return to earn five set points.

Bopanna managed to save two with his booming serves but Torpeggard fired a body serve on Bopanna to seal the opening set.

Ironically, it was Nielsen who blinked in the second set, dropping his serve in the opening game. At 15-30, he could not return one shot from Bopanna to be down by two break chances. He saved the first but double-faulted on the second to hand the Indians an advantage.

That break stayed with the Indians and Sharan served out the set in the 10th to force a decider.

The Indian team had three break chances against Torpegaard in the fifth game but fluffed all. The Danish team showed nerves of steel to hold that crucial game after going down 0-40. Credit to Torpegaard to pull off those big serves under pressure.

Bopanna came out to serve to stay in the match in the 10th game and was under pressure when Torpegaard found a backhand winner to make it 30-all but the Indian held to stay afloat after one deuce point.

Edge of the seat action followed in the 12th game when the Indian team, saved three match points and sealed the match in tie-breaker.

Nielsen double faulted at 1-2 and then made a backhand overhead volley error to give India a handsome 4-1 lead which proved enough for India to seal the win. 

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New Delhi, Mar 4 (Tennis News) Ramkumar Ramanathan did not even need his 'A game' to put India 1-0 ahead in the Davis Cup World Group I Play-off tie against Denmark as he walked out with an easy straight-set win over an error-prone Christian Sigsgaard, here on Friday.

Taking full advantage of the Danish player's discomfort on the low bounce grass court, Ramkumar cruised to a 6-3 6-2 win over Christian, ranked as low as 824, in the opening singles of the tie at Delhi Gymkhana Club.

There was hardly any fight in the match, that lasted just 59 minutes, as Christian made it easy for the 170th-ranked Indian with his unending unforced errors.

Yuki Bhambri will now take on Mikael Torpegaard in the second singles.

Christian struggled with his serve, committing as many as three double faults in the second game of the opening set and was down a breakpoint but Ramkumar could not capitalise on that chance.

Ramkumar mostly used backhand slices for returns and stayed solid on his service games. Christian again handed Ramkumar a break chance when he double-faulted at 30-all in the fourth game.

A long rally ensued with both players putting to use their backhand slice stroke but Ramkumar eventually prevailed.

There were not many points when the lanky Indian charged the net, a strategy which was expected to be followed by him, but the error-prone game of Christian made it easy for Ramkumar.

The Indian had three set points in the eighth game but could convert none. He sealed the opening set in the next game with a solid serve that Christian could not return, netting a backhand.

In the second set it was Christian who blinked first, going down 0-40 in the third game. He began with a double fault and Ramkumar put his rival under more pressure with a stunning forehand crosscourt return winner. Christian then netted a return.

The Danish player handed the break to the home player when he hit a backhand long on the third breakpoint. There was no end to Christian's struggle and Ramkumar finished the match with an ace in the eighth game after failing to convert four match points in the previous game. 

Also Read : There is a gap in Indian tennis but structured plan in place for future: Rohit Rajpal

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Mar 2 (Tennis News) India's Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal acknowledged that there is a "gap" in Indian tennis at the moment with the next line not quite visible but asserted that a "structured plan" is in place to ensure that the fresh pool of talent emerges soon.

Speaking to the media ahead of the Davis Cup World Group 1 play-off tie against Denmark on Friday and Saturday, Rajpal was asked about the plan for the future in Indian tennis given that the squad still features a 41-year-old doubles specialist in Rohan Bopanna.

"We have a decent line-up for singles, we have a good line-up for doubles but we do have an issue that some of the players are getting older for example, Rohan is getting on the other side of 40, and that is worrying for me," Rajpal said in a press conference here.

"There is a gap in Indian tennis at this moment. We are also opening centre of excellence and sports science centre. Overall, we are trying to create a pipeline. (Davis Cup coach) Zeeshan Ali has moved to Delhi, we have picked up some kids, some more will be picked. We have a structured plan. We are trying to cover the gap. That's the effort," he added.

About the tie, Rajpal reiterated that the grass court would work to India's advantage and was especially pleased to have Yuki Bhambri back in the mix. Bhambri (863) along with Ramkumar Ramanathan (182) and Prajnesh Gunneswaran (228) make up the singles line-up.

"Ram has been playing well, he won a Challenger in the Middle East. I am very happy to have Yuki Bhambri in the team. We have been working on his fitness to make sure he is ready for the tie," Rajpal said.

Asked about the home advantage against the Danes, Rajpal said the surface certainly gives India the edge.

"It all depends who you are playing against, if you have a Federer and Nadal then you haven't won half the battle. Otherwise, the home side has advantage because you get to choose the surface," he pointed out.

Denmark Captain Frederik Nielsen agreed with that assessment.

"I trust my boys, playing on the grass court will not be the biggest upset in the history of Davis Cup but it's needless to say that it may cause some upsets to win this tie," said Nielsen.

The two captains also touched on the dying art of serve and volley in an increasingly power-driven game.

"The art of serve and volley is dying. The players are strong, athletic, stroking machines, they run down and hit back, and they hit very hard. The touch is gone, the craft is dying, which is quite sad. (But) over here you will see lot of serve volley," said Rajpal.

Nielsen was not particularly sad about the craft's fading relevance and listed the practical reasons why players are looking for big, powerful shots.

"Conditions don't suit serve and volley anymore. The players are big, the conditions are slow. The equipment is too good. It's too easy to hit and hit harder shots.

"In order to change that you have to change the surface, play on faster surfaces. There is really no benefit in encouraging serve and volley anymore. The surface encourages baseline rallies," he said. 

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News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Feb 2 (Tennis News) Sumit Nagal has been dropped from the five-member Indian Davis Cup team for the World Group 1 play-off tie against Denmark here next month, the national tennis federation said on Wednesday.

Nagal (world ranked 222) made way for Yuki Bhambri (863) in the squad which also has Ramkumar Ramanathan (182) and Prajnesh Gunneswaran (228) as other singles players.

The team has been selected keeping in mind the playing surface as both India's top-ranked singles player -- Ramkumar and comeback man Yuki -- are comfortable playing on grass courts.

Gunneswaran and Nagal, on the other hand, are not grass court players.

Besides, doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna has retained his place in the squad alongside Divij Sharan, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) said.

Saketh Myneni and Digvijay Pratap Singh are the two reserve players in the squad, to be coached by Zeeshan Ali, and has Rohit Rajpal as non-playing captain.

The tie will be held at the grass courts of Delhi Gymkhana Club on March 4 and 5, inside a bio-security bubble.

The team was handpicked after a virtual meeting of the Professional Selection Committee of AITA on January 29.

According to a statement issued by AITA, the meeting was attended by chairman Nandan Bal, members Balram Singh, Mustafa Ghouse, Sai Jayalakshmy, Rajpal, Zeeshan Ali and AITA secretary general Anil Dhupar.

The team will assemble in New Delhi on February 23.

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New Delhi, Dec 20 (Tennis News) The lack of depth in Indian tennis is due to the lack of a structured programme, Davis Cup captain Rohit Rajpal said on Monday but, along with coach Zeeshan Ali, expressed optimism that the establishment of National Tennis Centre will soon start producing players to take the game forward.

The NTC has started functioning at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) but arranging funds for the ambitious project, which offers scholarships to top junior players and aims to provide stat-of-the-art training facilities to the best men and women Indian players, is still keeping the national federation, AITA, worried.

India does not have a single top-100 players in the singles format and the best-ranked player is 27-year-old Ramkumar Ramanathan, who is placed 184 on the ATP chart. Prajnesh Gunneswaran, at 32, is not getting any younger and Rohan Bopanna has already touched 41.

Yuki Bhambri, 29, has lost precious time to injuries and the 24-year-old Sumit Nagal too has his own limitations.

Currently, the next Davis Cup players are nowhere to be seen.

India does not have a single junior player in top-5 even among Asians. Nishant Dabas at 97, is the only player in top-100 juniors in the world. Players from Namibia, Morocco, Kazkahstan and Brazil are ranked much higher than the Indians.

"We must do something. It's a worrisome situation. We used to dominate in Asia at least but it's not the case any more. This is because of lack of a structured programme," rued Rajpal, who was present during the launch of the second season of Pro Tennis League.

"But now NTC is there. Consistent pipeline is a necessity, something that badminton has done, is needed for tennis." Zeeshan, who is heading the coaching programme of the NTC, said "nothing happens overnight." Zeeshan left his base in Bangalore and moved to Noida along with his family to head the NTC.

"The objective of the NTC is not just giving training to the juniors but create a base for all top players of the country, where they can come and use the facilities," said Zeshan.

"The physios, the fitness trainers, gym, pool, restaurant and more importantly a sports science centre where the players and can have their injury issues addressed in a scientific manner." The NTC has, as of now, taken Karan Singh, Ajay Malik, Nishant Dabas, Riya Sachdeva (U14) under its wings, taking care of all the expenses of their training and stay at DLTA.

Suraj Prabodh, Nitin Sinha have also made NTC their base as about 35 players, including from Singapore and Middle East, now train at the centre.

NTC will also tie up with Open schools for online class of its trainees so that their education does not suffer.

"We have lost a lot of players to the US College system. I am sure, given a choice the players will like to turn Pro than play college tennis. And 70-80 per cent of Indian players can't afford to train in Spain or Germany.

"We are trying to bridge the gap. For the first time we have a programme, and hopefully, it will make a difference," said Rajpal. 

Also Read : India to host Denmark on grass courts in Delhi

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Dec 9 (Tennis news) India will host Denmark either on grass courts or fast hard courts for their next Davis Cup World Group I tie in March next year with top player Yuki Bhambri set to resume national duty.

The process to identify the venue and surface for the tie began on Thursday with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) reaching out to players to know their preferred surface and potential state associations which could host the matches on March 4-5 next year.

Since Denmark players are used to playing more on slow hard courts and clay courts, India would like to create conditions that help them in home tie. Yuki plays well on grass and Ramkumar Ramanathan too of late is playing well with serve and volley style.

Also, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Sumit Nagal may not be better at playing on grass courts than Yuki and Ramkumar but both of them are still better than Denmark players when it comes to playing on grass or fast hard courts.

"It seems we will settle on either grass courts or fast hard courts. Yuki is our top player and he loves to play on grass," said a source, who is privy to the discussions.

If the tie is held on grass, the likely options would be Delhi, Chandigarh Jaipur and Lucknow and if the players choose to play on fast hard court, Indore will be hot favourite to host the match.

India were handed a home tie after three years after the draw pitted them against Denmark for the World Group I tie.

AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said captain Rohit Rajpal is discussing the issue with the players.

"We will know in two days' time where we are going to host this tie. Once we know the players' choice for surface, we will see which venue would be best for the purpose," Dhupar told PTI from Indore.

"I feel Delhi will host matches since Delhi has not hosted any big event in recent past. They must be keen to have this tie," said an AITA official.

The Karnataka association is hosting two Challenger events, so it is highly unlikely that the tie will be held in Bengaluru but an official said they can still "consider".

It will be the first tie between the two nations since September 1984 when India won 3-2 at Aarhus.

The two teams have not clashed much as the only other time they played was in 1927 when Denmark whitewashed India 5-0 in the quarterfinal in Copenhagen.

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News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Dec 9 (Tennis news) The process to identify the venue for India's next Davis Cup tie against Denmark began on Thursday with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) reaching out to players to know their preferred surface and potential state associations who could host the matches on March 4-5 next year.

India were handed a home tie after three years after the draw pitted them against Denmark for the World Group I tie.

AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said captain Rohit Rajpal will speak with the players to know what surface they think would be best-suited for the home team.

"We will know in two days' time where we are going to host this tie. Once we know the players' choice for surface, we will see which venue would be best for the purpose," Dhupar told PTI from Indore.

It has been learnt that either Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) or Madhya Pradesh Tennis Association (Indore) can host the tie if the players opt to play on hard courts.

"I feel Delhi will host matches since Delhi has not hosted any big event in recent past. They must be keen to have this tie," said an AITA official.

The Karnataka association is hosting two Challenger events, so it is highly unlikely that the tie will be held in Bengaluru but an official said they can still "consider".

It will be the first tie between the two nations since September 1984 when India won 3-2 at Aarhus.

The two teams have not clashed much as the only other time they played was in 1927 when Denmark whitewashed India 5-0 in the quarterfinal in Copenhagen.

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News Source : PTI

Espoo (Finland), Sep 18 (Tennis news) Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their chances in the must-win doubles match as India lost the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, here on Saturday.

Captain Rohit Rajpal changed the doubles combination at the last minute by pairing Bopanna with Ramkumar instead of left-handed Divij Sharan but nothing helped as they lost the crucial match 6-7(2) 6-7(2) to Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara in one hour and 38 minutes.

Both Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar had lost their singles matches on Friday and to stay alive in the tie, the Indians needed to win the doubles.

The reverse singles have now been rendered inconsequential.

Heliovaara was considered the most vulnerable of all four players on the court but he raised his game by several notches and created a huge impact on the outcome of the match with his fearless approach.

The Indian, on the contrary, fumbled even when they had advantage as they squandered as many as four breakpoints in the eight game of the second set when winning that game could have given them the chance to put the hosts under the pump.

After doing all the hard work, the Indians cracked at crucial junctures.

At 3-3, the Indian pair attacked the serve of Heliovaara, going 30-all but the home player served big on the next two points to ensure the set stays on serve.

Eventually the opening set went to tie-breaker. Heliovaara found a stunning service return winner off Bopanna on the second point to get the mini break and also held his serve as Finland took a 4-1 lead.

Then came Ramkumar's double fault and a volley error at the net that gave Finland players five set points. They converted the second when Ramkumar could not return Kontinen's serve.

A forehand winner by Ramkumar at 30-all in the second game of the second set, set up the first break chance for India and they converted when Kontinen could not return Bopanna's backhand.

However, the big-serving Bopanna dropped his own serve in the next game when he made consecutive unforced errors.

In the next game, the Indians went up 40-0 on Heliovaara's serve but blew away all three breakpoints and later one more to let the rivals hold for a 4-4 scoreline.

Another tie-breaker followed. Helovaara pulled of a sensational forehand winner at 5-2 to get to first match point and it was all over for India when Ramkumar could not return the ball in the next point.

Also read: Davis Cup: Prajnesh, Ramkumar lose on Day 1, India trail 0-2 against Finland

News source: PTI 

Espoo (Finland), Sep 16 (Tennis news) India's singles players will need to back their talent with some killer instinct for the team to emerge victorious against a reasonably strong Finland in the Davis Cup World Group I tie, starting here on Friday.

Prajnesh Guneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan have the experience of playing the big matches.

They have rubbed shoulders with better players but it's time for them to move forward from playing mere close matches. They need to deliver that knockout punch that will take India to the next year's Qualifiers.

If Ramkumar can play the same way he competed against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the previous tie against Croatia and does not miss the chances he gets, India will have a very good chance in the tie.

As the second-best ranked player from India, Ramkumar will be up against Finland's number one player Emil Ruusuvuori, who is placed 74 in the world, on the opening day of the tie.

If Ramkumar takes the court first and puts India on board, that will be a huge result for the visitors and take the pressure off Prajnesh (ranked 165) who will most likely compete against Otto Virtanen (ranked 419).

Prajnesh too gets close to wins with his talent but has the tendency of giving up advantageous positions, like the one against Borna Coric in the last tie against Croatia.

Maybe it's pressure of playing for the flag but the left-hander from Chennai insists it is not the case.

"Matches against good players are always close if I'm playing well. I have won matches against good players being in the lead and I have also lost matches being in the lead. That's just the way they go," Prajnesh told PTI.

"Matches which are closely fought can go either way. There is no pressure of playing for India that influences me...Sometimes there's more pressure, other times that's less.

"Again, just depends on how well I cope on that particular day," he added.

India considered the doubles point in their pocket till the time Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi competed together but now things have changed.

Rohan Bopanna (44) has immense experience of the big stage and he needs to use all of that to shepherd the team with Divij Sharan (86) since their opponents -- Henri Kontinen (ranked 46) and Harri Heliovaara (ranked 76) -- will be a tough nut to crack.

Bopanna and Sharan have played only one tie together, winning against Italy in March 2019.

Most of 40-year-old Bopanna's doubles wins have come either with either Paes or Saketh Myneni.

It remains to be seen if captain Rohit Rajpal fields Bopanna with Sharan or Myneni, who is the fifth member of the squad.

Kontinen has played three of the four Grand Slams this year with Edouard Roger-Vasselin but paired with Heliovaara at the US Open, probably to get ready for this tie.

They had a decent first round before losing in a close three-set match.

Non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal feels that the conditions are not entirely in the favour of the hosts since the low bounce of the courts will benefit the Indian players, who can play the chip-and-charge game to counter their rivals.

Also Read : Low bounce, not-so-fast court surprises Indian Davis Cup team in Finland

News Source : PTI

Espoo (Finland), Sep 14 (Tennis news) The Indian tennis squad was in for a pleasant surprise when it found out that the indoor hard court for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Finland was not as fast as it was expected and carries low bounce.

The Indian players on Tuesday got a chance to practice on the match court, which has been laid temporarily on carpet at an ice-hockey stadium here and after the first hit, it turned out that it suits the visitors in limited yet crucial way.

Non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal, before leaving for Finland, had said that they are expecting fast hard courts but realised that it's not the case.

"What they have done is that they have pulled the ice out and put a wooden plank and laid the court over it, so the bounce is low that suits us but at the same time the slowness of the court does not suit us," Rajpal told PTI.

"The Europeans mostly play on clay courts which are slower, so they like to rally a lot and that is their strength. Our Indian players do not do that but low bounce will certainly benefit us and our strategy will revolve around that," he added.

Asked how the low-bounce court would suit Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran when they too have spent considerable time training and playing in Europe, Rajpal said because of their repertoire of shots. "We can chip and charge, our players do that often. Both Ramkumar and Prajnesh hit flat and for that, the low bounce will be pretty helpful. You can't do that on high bounce courts," he explained.

The two-day tie begins Friday.

Finland have higher-ranked players in both singles and doubles but Rajpal, for whom it will be his third tie as captain, said the Indians are in with a chance.

Finland's top-ranked player is Emil Ruusuvuori, who is placed 74 on the ATP list while India's best-ranked player Prajnesh Gunneswaran (165) is not even inside top-150.

The left-handed Indian had recently lost to Ruusuvuori on the Tour.

"On paper they are a better ranked team than us but this is Davis Cup, I say it is 50-50. It depends on how things pan out on the first day as well. To have a 1-1 score on day one is important for us. The doubles is going to be a crucial match for both sides." "As the days go on and we get to see more of our players, our strategy will be clearer. The team is looking in good shape, the boys have been playing on the Tour so they are sharp." The players have entered the bio-bubble where they are restricted to their apartments, hotel and the venue.

The apartments are placed just outside the official hotel, where they go only for food which is served in a separate protected area.

The winner of the tie will qualify for the Qualifiers in 2022 while the losing teams will compete in the play-offs to retain their place in World Group I next year.

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News source: PTI

New Delhi, Sep 9 (Tennis news): Sumit Nagal excused himself from the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Finland, citing a hip injury, but the young tennis player continues to play on the ATP Challenger tour, upsetting the national federation, which will soon take up the matter with him.

Nagal wrote to All India Tennis Association (AITA) on August 28 that due to a hip injury he won't be able to compete against Finland because playing on the hard courts would aggravate his injury.

Finland will host India on indoor hard court from September 18.

The AITA then replaced Nagal with Saketh Myneni.

However, Nagal has competed in two Challenger events since then on clay courts -- Meerbusch (Germany) and Banja Luka (Bosnia & Herzegovina) -- which took the AITA by surprise.

Experts say it's impossible to play either on hard courts or clay courts if a player is carrying a hip injury. They say irrespective of the surface, the player can't escape from running which is not possible in case of a hip injury. Before reaching out to Myneni, the AITA also approached Sasi Kumar Mukund to take the place of Nagal in the national team but he also refused to play since he wanted to defend points in Pro Tour.

The lack of commitment of the young tennis players for the national team has stumped the AITA, which says it will speak to Nagal once the Finland tie is over.

"To see our player Sumit Nagal playing other tournaments and not playing Davis Cup is upsetting. We definitely want our best players to play for the country, no doubt about it. We are definitely going to take this matter up once we are back (from Finland)," AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar told PTI.

"We want him in the Davis Cup team. Let's see what appropriate action we can take once we are back. We expect our top players to make themselves available (for national team)," he added.

Non-playing captain Rohit Rajpal also did not appreciate Nagal's decision.

"Obviously any captain will like his best players available. It's disappointing to go without our best team. Yuki Bhambri is injured," said Rajpal.

The 24-year-old Nagal could not be reached for a comment and his manager did not respond to messages.

Somdev Devvarman, who is also part of Nagal's team in a mentor's role, also did not respond to messages.

However, Mukund gave his reasons for not joining the Indian team.

"I am not as high ranked as Prajnesh and Ramkumar, so I don't have the liberty to choose tournaments, so I have two main draws in the states (USA) so I need to play it.

"I have made 30 points this year and I worked really hard to come back to form and now would be tough for me to break momentum," Mukund said.

The talented young player said his Austrian coach also advised him against playing the upcoming Davis Cup tie.

"My coach (Martin Spottl) said it's better for me to stay on Tour. Even though it was his decision to send me 15 days to Kolkata to practice on grass but this time it was a tough call for him to do that," he said.

Mukund, 24, also said that it would have been extremely difficult for him to get the appropriate visa. "I will just not be able to be in Europe unless they get me a new visa which when I asked the German ambassador he said it's nearly impossible. So I would have to exit EU to either India or Tunisia or somewhere which my coach can't come because someone in his family has a surgery.

"And I am not ready to forego my existing visa for new short term visa," he said.

It may be mentioned that Mukund had made himself unavailable for the tie much before the selection committee meeting took place but the AITA reached out to him again after Nagal pulled out.

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News source: PTI

New Delhi, Aug 6 (Tennis news) Doubles exponent Rohan Bopanna on Friday retained his place in the Indian Davis Cup team despite his recent run-in with the national federation, which named a five-member squad for the upcoming World Group I away tie against Finland.

Expectedly, all top three singles players of the country -- Prajnesh Gunneswaran (ranked 158), Sumit Nagal (159) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (204) -- have been picked for the September 17-18 tie, which will be held on indoor courts in Espoo Metro Areena in Espoo city.

The AITA selection committee had a virtual meeting on Thursday to decide on the team.

Rohit Rajpal will be the non-playing captain of the side and Zeeshan Ali the coach.

Bopnna, ranked 40, will have his doubles partner in Divij Sharan, ranked 82.

The duo could not qualify for the ongoing Tokyo Olympics due to low combined rank.

In the last tie against Croatia which India lost 1-3, Bopanna had paired with Leander Paes. Rest is the same squad.

Bopanna had accused the All Indian Tennis Association (AITA) secretary general Anil Dhupar of misleading him and the nation by claiming that the ITF had accepted his and Sumit Nagal's entry for the doubles competition of the Tokyo Games.

Bopanna made public his telephonic conversation with Dhupar, putting the audio recording on his twitter page.

Finland has one higher-ranked singles player in Emil Ruusuvuori, who is placed 69th in the ATP chart, while it does not have a player inside top-100.

Finland also has two decent doubles players in Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara, who are ranked 39 and 38 respectively.

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Selection committee member Balram Singh told PTI that the recent controversy regarding Bopanna was not discussed by the members.

"There are former players in the committee and they know the value of a doubles rubber point in Davis Cup. Rohan, being our top player, was a natural choice," Balram said.

"It was just a matter of misunderstanding that a controversy erupted," he said.

The winner of the tie will qualify for the Qualifiers in 2022 while the losing teams will compete in the play-offs to retain their place in World Group I next year.

News source: PTI