India meanwhile will be represented by Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan, who will play singles.
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Despite Spain possessing an incredibly strong squad, Nadal does not want to take India lightly.
The pain of not living up to the favourites tag in the previous ties still rankles the Spanish Davis Cup team as Rafael Nadal said “special things” can happen for lower-ranked Indian players in the World Group play-off tie.
India, spearheaded by the veteran Leander Paes, will field Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the singles matches against 14-time Grand Slam victor Nadal and World No.13 David Ferrer.
As a result, Paes is slated to take on the mighty Spanish along with the relatively inexperienced Myneni.
Fifth-ranked Nadal said the 31-year-old from Switzerland was capable of matching any of the top players on the world circuit after taking the title on Sunday in NY. There’s always confrontation when you are not playing at home, so hard. The conditions are risky.
“Special things happen is Davis Cup”. In the past we lost a couple of confrontations that we were favourites and we were in a good position to win.
“So a lot of respect for all opponents”. The multiple grand slam champion is eager to see his team defeat India and reach the world group. We have a lot of tennis tradition back home and a team like Spain should be in the World Group. “It is an important tie for us and I hope I can play my part”. “It’s hard tie, it’s good for us to have Nadal and Feliciano Lopez”, Ferrer said. Spain had not fielded their A team in those ties with neither Nadal nor Ferrer featuring in the contests. “I feel good here, good people, good crowd”.
The most promising note of all, if any, for the Indian team came from the big man Nadal himself as he reminded everyone not everything goes to plan in Davis Cups.
“Excited to be back in India”.
“We don’t have Rohan Bopanna now, which puts more load on Saketh Myneni as he might play the first two days”.
Nadal, who has been struggling with injuries recently, asserted that he has now recovered and is ready to give his best for his country. “I was first on the court and last to leave”. In singles we’ve always had one singles player. “They will be playing at home in front of home crowd in conditions they chose”, Nadal said. “We have had enough time to get used to the climate and court”.
“I think we have similar conditions although it is much more hotter here”.
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The Spanish captain, Conchita Martinez dismissed the notions of the weather being a factor, saying professional players were used to tough conditions in Australia and the U.S., and would be ready to play. “It is a chance for me to nurture him in his first tie against a tough team”, he said.
