Tennis: Close tie likely against Indians

By TERRY MADDAFORD in Wellington

New Zealand No 1 Mark Nielsen was less than a year old when New Zealand last played India in the Davis Cup.

Today, the North Harbour player will be first on court at Wellington's Renouf Centre as New Zealand chase a fourth consecutive win over India, dating back to their first tie, in 1975.

Victory in this Asia/Oceania group one semifinal guarantees the chance to square off against one of the strong Davis Cup nations in a promotion-relegation tie against a first-round world group loser.

That group includes Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Britain, Brazil, and Slovakia.

The link with the last New Zealand-India clash, in New Delhi in 1978, comes through Indian non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan, who lost to Russell Simpson in the "dead" fifth rubber.

Krishnan returns to Wellington with fond memories and a team he feels are capable of winning.

"I think it will be a competitive tie," said Krishnan, who in 1988, won New Zealand's first ATP tour event, in Wellington. "There are some good matches coming up.

"We have no complaints. All my players have come here from tournaments around the world. We have had enough time to prepare.

"There has been a lot of talk about the cold and the wind. That does not worry us.

"Tennis, and the Davis Cup in particular, is a big sport in our country, second only, I think, behind cricket in terms of popularity. Leander [Paes] and Mahesh [Bhupathi] are stars."

The tie, in which India go in ranked 18th in the world compared to New Zealand at 27, is being shown live on Indian television.

There was no surprise when Krishnan named Paes and Bhupathi as his doubles combination, but the naming of Harsh Mankad as the No 2 singles player behind Paes was a little unexpected.

The 22-year-old, who plays Nielsen this morning, is ranked 750th on the ATP list but did win both his singles matches in the tie with Lebanon in February.

Nielsen, who has a 10-8 win-loss singles record in cup play, is ranked 396 and has been a Davis Cup regular since 1997.

Being drawn to play the opening match is nothing new for Nielsen.

"In every tie expect one I have been first on court," said 24-year-old Nielsen.

"Sure, it makes it easier not having to sit around not knowing when you will be playing but when you walk out it is zero-zero. I just go out focused on one thing - getting a point for the team.

"If I do that, it helps take the pressure off Alistair [Hunt]."

Hunt, the Kiwi veteran at 29 and heading into his 16th tie since his 1995 debut, plays Paes in the second singles.

Paes, who has career prizemoney of US$2.8 million and played his first cup tie in 1990, has an ATP singles ranking of 441, down from a career-high 73 in 1998. He is ranked ninth on the doubles list.

It seems that by naming the rookie pairing of James Shortall and Dan Willman to play in tomorrow's doubles against the former world No 1 pairing of Paes and Bhupathi, New Zealand are prepared to concede the doubles and go all out in singles.

But there is speculation that non-playing captain Glenn Wilson might be bluffing and that Hunt and Nielsen, who combined for the first time to beat Indonesia in doubles in February, might be called on.

Allowing for all the intrigue Davis Cup tennis brings, it seems the tie could be decided 3-2, either way.

DAVIS CUP DRAW

Opening day singles: Mark Nielsen v Harsh Mankad, Alistair Hunt v Leander Paes.

Doubles: Dan Willman-James Shortall v Paes-Mahesh Bhupathi.

Reverse singles: Nielsen v Paes, Hunt v Mankad.