The Indian tennis association is refusing to be held to ransom by regular Davis Cup players, who have hinted at a possible boycott if their demands for a greater involvement in the running of the team are not met.
Former world number one Pat Rafter has been named Australia's Davis Cup coach and is tasked with leading the once-great tennis nation back to the pinnacle of the sport.
Croatia and Argentina reached the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, winning in doubles to take unassailable 3-0 leads over Chile and Netherlands respectively. Seven times champions Sweden took a 2-1 lead over Israel with doubles victory for Robert Lindstedt and Simon Aspelin over Andy Ram and Amir Hadad.
The Indian team is staring at a heavy defeat in its Davis Cup World Group first round tie after conceding a 0-2 lead to hosts Norway following Ramkumar Ramnathan's loss to Viktor Durasovic in the second singles in Lillehammer, Norway.
Not used to playing singles anymore, India's Rohan Bopanna found rhythm in nick of time to edge past Hong Chung before Yong-Kyu Lim prevented a Korean whitewash with a gritty win over Ramkumar Ramanathan in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I tie, in Chandigarh, on Sunday.
Veteran pairing Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut booked France's place in another Davis Cup final as they won the doubles to seal the champions' 3-0 victory over Spain in their World Group semi-final on Saturday.
Spain's Carlos Moya has decided to skip the men's team competition to focus on the Grand Slam tournaments and the Masters Cup.
Roger Federer has confirmed that he will play in Switzerland's Davis Cup playoff tie away to Netherlands at the weekend, the Swiss Tennis Federation said on Tuesday.
Leander Paes has vowed to show his rookie teammates the way in order to help them make a worthy debut for India in the upcoming Davis Cup tie against South Korea, but acknowledged the task ahead is 'tough'.
Top doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi has opted out of India's Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan next month to allow tour partner Rohan Bopanna pair with Leander Paes, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced on Tuesday.
David Ferrer crushed Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to fire depleted champions Spain into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup on Sunday and set up a clash away to nine-times winners France.
Yuki Bhambri returned to Davis Cup action with a commanding victory while Ramkumar Ramanathan did not even need his 'A game' to emerge victorious as India grabbed a 2-0 lead in the World Group I Play-off tie against Denmark, in New Delhi, on Friday.
Leander Paes made a return while Yuki Bhambri was left out of a five-member Indian squad picked for the Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Russia in Moscow from March 5-7.
Shaik Abdullah and Fatehdeep Singh came a cropper in the decisive doubles rubber as India lost the opening tie on the junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania qualifying round 1-2 to fourth seed Chinese Taipei in Delhi on Monday.
Andy Murray beat Belgium's David Goffin 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to seal Britain's first Davis Cup triumph for 79 years on Sunday in the Flanders Expo in Ghent.
Veteran doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi made a comeback for national duty as a five-member Indian team for the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan was announced in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna put up a gallant fight against world number 18 Viktor Troicki before losing as India conceded a 0-1 lead against top seed and defending champions Serbia in the first round of the Davis Cup World Group tie in Novi Sad on Friday.
Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved three match-points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to prevail over a fighting Danish pair of Frederik Nielsen and Mikael Torpegaard as India kept its place in the Davis Cup World Group I by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the Play-off tie, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
British pair Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot defeated Canadians Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in four sets in Ottawa to give Britain a 2-1 lead ahead of Sunday's reverse singles.
Rafael Nadal survived a spirited early attack from American Sam Querrey on Friday, before beating the Davis Cup debutant 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening semi-final rubber in Madrid.
Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic won five-set marathons at home to put Croatia 2-0 ahead of 32-time champions United States, while Israel stunned favoured Russia to also lead 2-0 in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday. Champions Spain were held to 1-1 by Germany in Marbella, and the Czech Republic and Argentina were tied after the opening two singles in their best of five tie.
'He has injured his knee tendon. It is not serious and he will be fit to play in the Davis Cup,' Prakash's father Vijay Amritraj said.
The doubles specialist made the team at the expense of Prakash Amritraj, who was rendered ineligible after the new sports policy that bars foreign passport holders from representing the country. Amritraj holds a United States passport.
Switzerland's preparations for the Davis Cup Final against France in Lille on Sunday have been disrupted by a back injury to Roger Federer and a spat within the Swiss camp.
Switzerland took advantage of Novak Djokovic's absence to open a 2-0 lead over last year's runners-up Serbia in their Davis Cup tie on Friday with Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka winning their singles rubbers.
Four members of the Davis Cup team have written to the AITA saying they will not play under captain Leander Paes.
Argentina, the Czech Republic and Spain also booked their places in the last eight by opening up 3-0 leads.
The youngster faces Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, while Rohan Bopanna will play Farrukh Dustov in the Asia Oceania Zone Group I tie.
Rafael Nadal's decision to opt out of Spain's Davis Cup tie against Peru is understandable given the physical problems the world number two has experienced in recent seasons, captain Emilio Sanchez-Vicario said.
Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will make his Davis Cup debut for France in a first-round tie against Romania next month.
John Isner shocked Roger Federer in four sets to secure a 2-0 lead for the United States away to Switzerland in Davis Cup World Group action Friday while holders Spain carved out the same advantage over Kazakhstan in their first-round tie.
'Drawing Canada is golden chance for India to get into World Group'
John Fitzgerald has been reappointed non-playing captain of Australia's Davis Cup squad for 2008 despite failing to keep the 28-times champions in the World Group. Australia lost their place in the elite World Group for the first time since 1991 when they lost a relegation tie against Serbia in September.
Carlos Alcaraz says winning all four Grand Slams at 22 has only fuelled his hunger, but the world No. 1 insists he won't chase a calendar Slam, choosing instead to take the majors one at a time.
Former India tennis star Vijay Amritraj says the new Davis Cup format will not affect the country much as it is still playing home and away games in Group I and not the World Group matches.
In what would come as a massive blow to India's chances at the Davis Cup, tennis ace Leander Paes pulled out of the US Open mixed doubles semi-finals due to back spasms which also makes him doubtful for the World Group playoff tie against Japan next week.
AITA said last week they had written to International Tennis Federation (ITF) asking them to shift the tie to a neutral venue
Rohan Bopanna returned to the country's Davis Cup squad after a two-year gap as AITA named a six-member team on Saturday, for the Asia/Oceania Group I contest against Chinese Taipei, starting January 31 in Indore.
The Australian is still suffering the effects of an injury he picked up during the US Open and had been rested as a precaution.
In what can be termed a decent draw, India is pitted against Japan in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie, beginning September 16. The winner of the tie will advance to the World Group while the losing nation will compete in the Asia-Oceania Group I zone.
