The Indian Davis Cup team will have to deal with loud voices of support for their opponents as they take the courts at the Yang Ming Tennis Center in Chinese Taipei,but more than that,it will be the formidable stature of Yen-hsun Lu that stands in the way of their progression. India meet the hosts in their first Davis Cup meeting from Friday,and the 59th-ranked Lu will be the one to beat. Theres no doubt that Lu is their biggest player. Plus,they have the home-crowd advantage. But our players are all looking forward to the tie. We have been hitting at the courts since Monday,trying to get a feel of the conditions. Its very warm and sunny here in the day,and thats the type of weather well be playing our matches in, said team manager SP Mishra,speaking to The Indian Express from Chinese Taipei. The draw is favourable for us because Somdev (Devvarman) takes on their No 2 player Chen Ti in the first match. If he can manage to win that,and we take a lead,there will be less pressure on Rohan. Also,Rohan has beaten Lu before. We have to focus on winning two singles and a doubles to win the tie, added Mishra. The manager also said the acrylic courts to be used for the tie will benefit the home team. Our players are good on hard courts,but on these courts the ball comes faster. So the courts will suit them more, he said. Ten days ago,Lu was seeded for the first time in his career in an ATP event at Delray Beach,and he lived up to his billing by knocking out former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt. He also counts Andy Murray and David Nalbandian among his scalps over the last few months. Not easy The 25-year-old had missed the previous tie against Kazakhstan,but is now the strongest player in his team ahead of this one,and defeating him would by no means be an easy proposition for the Indians. He will play Bopanna in the second match on Friday,the opening day of the tie. The Indian,who turned 28 on Wednesday,has been enjoying a good run of form in the doubles with his ATP Tour partner Jarkko Nieminen the duo recently defeated the former No 1 pair of Mike and Bob Bryan and he can take heart from the fact that his opponent has been on the losing side against him earlier. Chinese Taipeis hero from the last tie,Wang Yeu-tzoo had filled in admirably for Lu by winning both the singles matches in their 4-1 win over the Kazakhs,but will not be a part of the team this time. His wrist problem forced him to undergo surgery in February,and he will be out of action for five months. Instead,it will be Chen ranked 365th who will play the first match against Devvarman.
