Davis Cup qualifiers | It will be a tough match against India, claims Corrado Barazzutti

Davis Cup qualifiers | It will be a tough match against India, claims Corrado Barazzutti

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By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Italy Davis Cup team captain, Corrado Barazzutti has claimed that their upcoming match against India will be a tough affair despite the huge gap in the ranking of both nations at the global level. Barazzutti added that the Italians will show a lot of respect to the Indian players on the grass court.

The Italian tennis team have arrived in India as they gear up to face off against India in their upcoming Davis Cup qualifiers next month. Italian captain, Corrado Barazzutti, claimed that the Indians will definitely prove to be tough opponents in the coming days and his players will not take the risk of taking the home team lightly.

“In Davis Cup, the ranking is only important for the draws on who plays first and who plays second. But everything changes once you step on the courts. No one are underdogs I think. It will be a tough match.

“They are playing at home and on grass. We have to be focused and play with utmost respect. It’s always very difficult to play when you play for your country. It’s important for us for sure. They are a good side. They are good players. We have to show bigger respect to this team, these players because they are very good,” Barazzutti told reporters after their first practice session on grass courts of the Calcutta South Club, reported PTI.

On the head-to-head count, Italy lead India by a comfortable gap of 4-1. The Indians managed to win the last time the two nations played in Kolkata back in 1985. This time around, the hosts opted to play the Italians on grass courts on February 1 and 2, considering that the visitors have tough hard and clay court players. The winner of the encounter between India and Italy will qualify for the inaugural World Group Finals in Madrid in November this year.

“It’s grass. What I can say. That is the court. And we have to play on this court, we have nothing to complain. We were just practising to play as better as possible.”

“You know the schedule. Only some players played on grass before Wimbledon last year. There’s maybe one tournament after Wimbledon. Nobody plays a lot on the grass. Even the Indians don’t play I think. Not only us,”  said Barazzutti, who was part of the Davis Cup winning Italian team in 1976.

World number 18, Marco Cecchinato, will be Italy’s danger weapon, while they have two other players who fall inside the top-60. India’s top-ranked Prajnesh Gunneswaran, on the other hand, is the world number 102.

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