印度的戴维斯杯库存
毫无疑问，印度最好的单打选手，Yuki Bhambri因为伤病而运气不佳。据他自己承认，自从他开始他的职业生涯以来，他只踢了六个完整的赛季。那是在2015年，他在当年年底达到了职业生涯最高的88位。这导致他直接进入澳大利亚网球公开赛的主抽签，但他在第一轮直接输给了托马斯·伯蒂奇(Tomas Berdych)。就在他似乎注定会有更好的表现时，伤病再次袭来，这次是在肘部。这让他在六个月的时间里处于低谷，他在ATP的排名一下子跌到了500名。今年年初在金奈公开赛上的出色表现，随后在戴维斯杯对阵新西兰的比赛中连赢两盘，以及在中国挑战者赛道上相当不错的成绩，再次点燃了希望。他在最后一轮输给了美国选手埃内斯托·埃斯科贝多(Ernesto Escobedo)，险些与澳网的参赛资格失之交肘。但在4月戴维斯杯对阵乌兹别克斯坦的比赛之前，他的希望再次被浇灭，因为他的腿部受伤迫使他退出比赛。“这是最令人沮丧的一点，”今年年初当被问及他的健康问题时，班布里说。 "It is the only bit that has held me back. I have always felt my game has been up there and from time to time I have proven it." It will be to the detriment of Indian tennis if the 24-year-old fails to realise his full potential.
图片:R. Ragu
和Yuki Bhambri一样，健身一直是Saketh Myneni的烦恼。但与Bhambri不同的是，他没有空闲的时间。今年10月，他将迎来30岁生日。即使在一个网球运动员都能打到30多岁的时代，这也是一项艰巨的任务。“我需要确保我能坚持整个赛季，”迈内尼在展望2017年时说。“在我过去四五年的巡演中，这种情况从未发生过。这项工作仍在进行中。我希望今年我的开始和结束都很强势。”在2月初戴维斯杯对阵新西兰的比赛前，他的脚伤突然爆发，这使得他的追求不得不等到下一个赛季。但当他在2017年初进行埃尔塞金奈公开赛主抽签首秀时，他已经取得了值得称赞的成绩。在三次试图获得大满贯资格的尝试失败后，他终于在美国网球公开赛上成功了。 In the first round he even stretched a much-higher ranked Jiri Vesely to five sets. His then ranking of 137 was his career-best. He also played his first Davis Cup live rubber against South Korea at home. But all the incremental gains made over the past year or two stand at the cusp of being frittered away. In the Davis Cup scheme of things, Myneni is a vital entity. With captain Bhupathi unwilling to carry a specialist doubles team, Myneni's ability to play equally good doubles gives the team options. It's imperative for India to have him back ahead of the World Group play off tie against Canada away. Myneni's playing style – first strike tennis – suits the quicker hard courts and his experience will be invaluable if Canada, with Milos Raonic in its ranks, decides to play on such a surface.
图片:S. R. Raghunathan
22岁的她是印度排名第一的单打选手。然而，人们无法摆脱他已经停滞不前的感觉。在2014年埃尔塞金奈公开赛上，他在第一轮就击败了索姆德夫德瓦曼。然后在2016年的比赛中，他打进了四分之一决赛，令人难忘。除此之外，很难想出其他杰出的成就。他的发球很好，正手击球也很凶猛，这场比赛将确保他赢的比输的多。然而，一个不存在的反手击球和一些不稳定的发球有时导致了他的失误。在过去的一年里，确实出现了一系列的“第一次”。自从去年7月在戴维斯杯对阵韩国的比赛中首次亮相以来，他一直是印度单打主力之一。当月晚些时候，他甚至第一次进入了前200名。 In the World Group play off tie against Spain, he even took a set off Feliciano Lopez. Recently he made his first appearance in a Challenger final at Tallahassee in the US. But his lack of consistency in the Challenger circuit has hampered his chances of moving upwards in the rankings. Also, the dispiriting 6-1, 6-1 loss to Yuki Bhambri at the Aircel Chennai Open clearly showed who the best player in India was. But with age on his side, Ramkumar has ample opportunities to come good and live up to what he has been promising all along.
图:V. Sreenivasa Murthy
普拉杰内什是另一个前途光明的职业生涯被伤病毁掉的人。他最初是在青少年巡回赛上掀起波澜，大约十年前赢得了16岁以下和18岁全国单打冠军。但从那以后，他几乎有一半的时间都在受伤。然而，过去的一年情况有所不同。他总共参加了19场比赛，是职业生涯单赛季最多的，排名达到职业生涯最高的284位，并在澳网外卡季后赛中差点击败德约科维奇在澳网的征服者丹尼斯·伊斯托明。在戴维斯杯单打首秀对阵乌兹别克斯坦的比赛中，这是他参加的第一场五局三胜的比赛，他表现出色，以四局取胜。“2016年对我来说是全新的，”普拉杰内什在与乌兹别克斯坦的比赛前说。“我很高兴参加比赛，发现自己的能力。每一场比赛，每一场锦标赛都给了我一种新的接触。这种经历正是我所需要的。 I am older than most guys but I have played a lot fewer matches than them." It helps that he has a willing backer in Bhupathi. After the Davis Cup win, Bhupathi even revealed that he had sounded out Prajnesh the day he took over as captain. That Prajnesh is a left-hander offers a variety which the Indian Davis Cup squad hitherto lacked. The stars finally seem to be rightly aligned for the 27-year-old.
照片:法新社
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