Bangalore: The high altitude conditions in Bangalore will benefit India in the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Serbia, which is likely to miss a few stars, said former star Vijay Amritraj.
The winners of the 12-14 September play-off tie will qualify for the elite 16-nation World Group.
"Bangalore will probably be the best bet from the stand point of where the tie should have been played, if we are not playing on grass. Somdev plays well here - the ball kicks up a lot higher. Yuki has won here in the Challengers. Rohan Bopanna plays well here, this will certainly help us," Amritraj said.
"Serbia tie makes it more interesting now. Possibly Novak won`t be here and Janko Tipsarevic is hurt and another player is not in the team. It is very good news for us because now it puts us in a position that I think the win is well within touching distance," he told reporters at an event organised by Louis Philippe.
"If on the opening day, if we can get to 1-1 start, I think we will be in a good position," he added.
Amritraj though thinks it will be very challenging for Indians to win medals at the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.
"Away matches are always difficult. Look at the performance in Delhi Commonwealth Games, we could win 101-102 medals and in Glasgow we could win 64. It doesn`t mean anything. It is difficult - weather conditions are different, crowds are different," he said.
From the standpoint of youngsters, Amritraj said Somdev and Yuki are in the prime of their careers and they should win as much as they could.
"When you cross 30 or 32, it is time for to hold to what you have," Amritraj said.
He said the game of tennis has become more competitive at international stage.
"What I like about where the tennis is today is that there is a little bit, some extent of changing of guard, where you have new guys threatening the old guys. With Nick Kyrgios beating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, Ernests Gulbis beating Federer in French Open, and Aliz? Cornet beating Serena Williams - and all these stuff makes international tennis look much more interesting."
On International Premier Tennis League, Amritraj said it is brilliant for tennis and Asia needs it and hoped it would compliment the Champions Tennis League (CTL).
"It is brilliant for tennis. Certainly Asia needs it. The Asian tennis federation is strongly supporting Hesh (Mahesh Bhupathi) in what he is doing. We hope CTL will do similar thing in India. This will be complimentary to what he is doing," he said.
Amritraj Indians peak late so the young players should not feel discouraged if they don`t taste success early in their careers.
"I have always said Indians mature mentally sooner, and physically later, and with the West it is exactly the opposite," he said adding, "So we have to understand that. We have to appreciate the fact that our physical capabilities are going to be best in mid 20s and not before that."
"If players aged between 18 and 20 don`t achieve results, they should not feel bad, instead put their heads down to the working ground and look for results when they hit the perfect physical age between 24 to 27," Amritraj said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, August 5, 2014, 19:10
