Vishnu Vardhan joined the Indian Davis Cup team in Chandigarh on Sunday and said the hosts are familiar with the playing style of the New Zealand squad that touched down for the Asia-Oceania tie starting September 14.
Sumit Nagal fought fire with fire to bring India back in the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against Denmark, winning the second singles.
India salvaged some pride by winning the two inconsequential reverse singles to reduce their margin of defeat against Uzbekistan to 2-3 in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I second round tie in Namangan (Uzbekistan) on Sunday.
Outgoing Davis Cup captain S P Misra has said with quality players such as Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri in the team, India have a good chance to qualify for the World Group next year.
India's non-playing captain Anand Amritraj said that the doubles team's "shock" defeat on day two resulted in the hosts ultimately losing the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against Czech Republic.
India's campaign ended at the $125000 Tashkent ATP Challenger after Davis Cuppers, Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan and Sanam Singh got beaten in their respective first round matches.
India's Davis Cup Captain Mahesh Bhupathi picked Rohan Bopanna for the Davis Cup match against Uzbekistan in Bengaluru.
Rohan Bopanna and Saketh Myneni were done in by some 'flawless' tennis played by the Kiwi players according to India coach Zeeshan Ali.
Ramkumar Ramanthan scored a fluent win after Yuki Bhambri eked out a straight set victory to hand India a commanding 2-0 lead against New Zealand on the opening day of the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie, in Pune, on Friday.
India's singles challenge came to a tame end after Yuki Bhambri lost 3-6, 3-6 to fifth seeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil, in the quarter-final of the ATP Chennai Open on Friday.
The Indian challenge in the men's singles at the Chennai Open came to an end on Tuesday when home favourite Somdev Devvarman was beaten 6-2, 6-4 by Belgian qualifier David Goffin. Earlier in the day, India's two other entries in the singles -- Rohan Bopanna and Yuki Bhambri (both wild cards) suffered similar fate.
India's Divij Sharan broke into the top-100 in the ATP doubles ranking as he jumped 15 places to a career best 94th spot, while Yuki Bhambri also achieved his career-best singles rank with a nine-place jump to 179 in the latest list released on Tuesday.
The left-handed Prajnesh, ranked 183, lost 3-6, 4-6 in the third and final round against the Swede, ranked 122 in the world.
Agnel Gladwin, Yuki Bhambri, G K Shwetha and Nandita Krishnan will represent India at the tournament in South Africa.
A profligate Yuki Bhambri missed chances galore in a tame defeat against world number 40 Jiri Vesley as India lost the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against top seeds Czech Republic 1-3.
Indian junior team finished fourth in the Junior Davis Cup competition after losing 1-2 to Russia in the World Finals in Mexico.
Indian team's hopes of annexing its first junior Davis Cup title win went up in smoke after it was blanked 0-3 by the United States in the semifinals.
While Somdev was beaten 7-5, 5-7, 1-6 by Slovakian 20th seed Nerbert Gombos, Saketh frittered a one-set lead while going down 6-4, 4-6, 1-6 to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.
Somdev Devvarman would be India's while Yuki Bhambri is expected to carry his good from into the new season which is full of new challenges for the Indian players as ATP Aircel Chennai Open begins on Monday.
Apollo Tyres Ltd on Tuesday signed up the doubles team of India's Mahesh Bhupathi and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic for the ATP and Gland Slam tours of 2007.
India stormed into the final of Junior Davis Cup's World Group playoff after stunning top seeds Australia 3-0 in New Delhi on Friday.
World No.4 Stan Wawrinka will look to win his third successive Chennai Open title, while the Indian challenge will be spearheaded by rising star Yuki Bhambri
In a big setback to the Indian Davis Cup team, country's leading singles player Yuki Bhambri was, on Sunday, ruled out of the upcoming tie against Uzbekistan due to a knee injury.
India's number one singles player will open the country's campaign against Wisnu Adi Nugroho in the Asia/Oceania Group I first round relegation play-off against Indonesia, beginning in Bangalore on Friday. No 2 Yuki Bhambri will lock horns with Indonesia No 1 Christopher Rungkat in the second singles.
Early morning heavy showers delayed the start of the Davis Cup tie between India and New Zealand in Chandigarh on Friday.
Even a second-string Serbia proved a mighty opponent as Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman suffered crushing singles defeats to leave India trailing 0-2 on the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie in Bangalore.
Holder and World number 17 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland faces a daunting task to retain his title as the 17th edition of ATP Chennai Open unfolds, on Monday, promising a keen tussle among top players.
None of the remaining three Indians, including Rohan Bopanna, could make the main singles draw of the Aircel Chennai Open. All of them suffered defeats in the second round of the qualifying event, on Sunday.
When contacted, AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar said he does not have any objection to Bopanna playing with Balaji, ranked 84, at the Paris Olympics.
Sania Mirza has enjoyed a dream run in the history Indian tennis this year. With two Grand Slam titles, 10 ATP crowns, in the WTA rankings, the Hyderabadi star continues to be World No 1.
India was left to battle it out in the Asian zone yet again after Ramkumar Ramanathan's defeat in the must-win fourth rubber of the Davis Cup match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov in Edmonton, on Sunday.
Sanam Singh qualified for the men's singles main draw of the Asia-Pacific Australian Open wild card play-off tournament after edging past Yuqing Ning in a tough three-setter and entered the doubles quarter-finals with compatriot N Sriram Balaji Nanjing on Wednesday.
It will be the beginning of a new era in Indian tennis when a young Davis Cup team, sans all the proven stars, battles it out against New Zealand to stay in the Asia Oceania Group I.
Expected to be called-up if the All India Tennis Association decides to send two men's doubles teams to the Olympics in its bid to resolve the selection crisis, Vishnu Vardhan said he is ready for the challenge.
Saketh Myneni got himself in line for two gold medals by reaching the finals of both men's doubles and mixed doubles events even as other Indian tennis players, including Sania Mirza, clinched three bronze at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
India's non-playing captain Anand Amritraj was upbeat ahead of the Asia Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against New Zealand, to be played in Pune from February 3 to 5, but cautioned the Kiwis should not be taken lightly.
Wild card Harsh Mankad won the US $10,000 ITF singles event in Chandigarh after his opponent in the final, Rohan Bopanna, pulled out due to a knee injury. The victory gave Mankad his second crown, having won the doubles title along with Rupesh Roy at the CLTA Complex on Friday.
Second seed Somdev Devvarman suffered a shock defeat at the hands of lower-ranked Australian Chris Guccione to bow out of singles but progressed to the doubles semi-finals of the ATP Challenger event in Charlottesville.
India has never beaten Sweden in five attempts in the Davis Cup.
Sumit Nagal made a comeback to the Indian Davis Cup team for the away World Group I tie against Norway while doubles specialist Divij Sharan was dropped after falling behind in the pecking order, on Thursday.
