Bopanna seeks more grass court tournaments for better Davis Cup show

New Delhi, Apr 11 (UNI) Lack of grass court tournaments in the country affects the show on this kind of surface and little wonder that India huffed and puffed their way to beat Pakistan in the Asia-Oceana Zone I Davis Cup play-off tie, said Rohan Bopanna.

The gangling youngster himself was struggling on grass and lost the first singles match to seasoned Pakistani Aisam Qureshi.

On his return from Mumbai after the tie, Bopanna told UNI that more grass court tournaments would stand Indian tennis in good stead.

''We play 20-25 hard court tournaments every year, compared to two-three on grass courts. But grass suits our game more in Davis Cup. That creates a tricky situation. You opt for this surface but you hardly play on it throughout the year. And then it's all but natural that you struggle to adjust to that kind of surface,'' he explained.

''We should have more grass court tournaments, including some of the Futures and Challengers,'' he added.

When pointed out that a number of players skipped last December's Bational Grass Court Championship, Bopanna said, ''I think it was announced at a very short notice and by then most players had committed in other tournaments. You should have the full calendar of the year but it was not the case.'' On his defeat against Querishi, Bopanna admitted the Pakistani was the better player and deserved to win.

''It was difficult against him. He's ranked somewhere near 150 and has beaten (Leander) Paes and (Paradorn) Srichapan in the past.

He is a good grass court player.'' Bopanna, however, denied that he had failed to live up to the expectation.

''Of course I'm more at home on hard courts but I don't think I have let all down. I enjoy the faith of my captain (Leander Paes).

Otherwise he would not have kept me in the side,'' he added.

UNI RAJ-PAR AY AK PM1605