Indian tennis: split wide open

Tennis in India seems to be heading the cricket way. In an unfortunate development, dressing room politics has made its way into the media, in a letter that was found to affect the prospects of Indian tennis and lead to the formation of coteries in the tennis establishment.  Three of the four players in the Davis Cup team have written to the Players Body of Indian Tennis that they will not play under the captaincy of Leander Paes.

The players wrote to the All India Tennis Associationg stating in no uncertain manner that they will not play under the captaincy of Leander Paes. According to a report in the Times of India, a letter addressed to All India Tennis Association Secretary  -- Anil Khanna, was signed by Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna, Mahesh Bhupathi and Karan Rastogi.

Things came to a head during the country's Cup opener against Uzbekistan in New Delhi in February when Paes questioned the professionalism of his number one player Prakash Amritraj during the tie. It is believed that Amritraj along with Bopanna, India No. 2, decided amongst themselves before approaching the rest of the team to address the issue.

Prakash Amritraj said, "Playing Davis Cup for India is our greatest joy. We live for these ties and through the year we prepare ourselves. So, we can speak for these occasions. He (Paes) has basically killed that joy for us."

In the letter it was also mentioned that the factors that led to the rebellion was firstly, there was no

support or communication through the year even when Paes was playing the same tournaments as Amritraj or Bopanna. As per the letter, there was a lack of confidence in Paes's decision making powers, like the decision not to play Amritraj on day one of the tie vs Uzbekistan, as he said that Amritraj was ill with a stomach sickness. It was stated on the same day that he was fit and ready to play.

The letter also mentioned the lack of comfort with Paes on the captain's chair during singles matches, because he was not in sync with the players' thinking and strategy. Paes' habit of repeatedly talking his teammates down to the media as in the case of Bhupathi during the Asian Games in Doha and Amritraj in Delhi has not gone down well with the players. The letter also has accused Paes' lack of punctuality during Cup ties.

This spat has the potential to wreck India's middle hope at the Beijing Olympics, given that Leander Paes will be playing and will be combining with Bhupathi on court to win India tennis gold.