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Bopanna has to be consistent: Krishnan
September 22, 2003 17:00 IST
Rohan Bopanna will�have to sustain the high standard of tennis he displayed against Holland if India is�to break into the World Group of the Davis Cup, says team captain Ramesh Krishnan.
"Rohan [Bopanna] played one of the best matches but it is a question of playing consistently at that level," Krishnan told PTI from Zwolle after India lost the World Group qualifying tie to hosts The Netherlands�0-5 on Sunday.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for India at the play-off stage, after having lost to Sweden, the US and Australia in previous outings since Krishnan took over as captain in 2000.
"The next tie is five months from now; that is a long time in modern tennis. We have identified the group of players who have shown promise but we have to cash in on that," Krishnan said.
Asked if the play-off has become a sort of jinx for India, Krishnan said, "There are too many ifs and buts."
"First, we have not had a full strength team in the last two years. This time Leander [Paes] was not there, and last year against Australia we did not have Mahesh [Bhupathi]," Krishnan said.
"The draw has been very tough. I think we need to have a full strength team playing at home for us to move up," Krishnan said.
Krishnan said though India did not win a match against the strong Dutch team, "we did have some excitement".
"[Martin] Verkerk was not in good form before the tie, so we eyed our chance there, and Rohan played well above himself.
"The doubles was also well-fought; we were leading in the second set before we lost.
"Ultimately they [Holland] had the depth. Sjeng Schalken is a top-ranked player and they straightaway had two points in the singles.
"So, we had to win the remaining three points which was not going to be easy," he said.