Exposure is the key to success
View(s):Davis cup loss to Pakistan
By David Stephens
Sri Lanka’s Davis Cup Non-Playing Captain, Rohan de Silva, opined that it was “unfortunate” that Sri Lanka perished 3-2 to Pakistan at their recent clash in Colombo, given the fact that the Lankan team possessed high-quality players and a reputation for punching above its weight in the international tennis arena.
“It is very unfortunate what happened. Although Pakistan is a higher ranked country on paper, we are capable of pulling off big matches; we have beaten Hong Kong and then we were very close to beating New Zealand,” he said.
Rohan de Silva states Sri Lanka's present set of tennis players are in good shape. - Pic by Amila Gamage
“The principal difference is that they are professionals and we are not. If you look at our team, Harshana is in the US and does not play much while Dinesh only plays in the local circuit. So the professionalism is the key difference.”
In the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan, Sri Lanka only registered victories through Harshana Godamanne, who beat Aisam Qureshi and Aqeel Khan. Despite coming close to stealing a victory in the doubles against a very strong pairing in Qureshi and Khan, Godamanne and Rajapakse were pipped at the post in a thrilling five-set battle. Asked whether it was time for Sri Lanka to inject young blood into its Davis Cup unit, de Silva said that this had the potential to stall the country’s current progress. Moreover, he stated, the current crop of players was in the ascendancy.
“They are a much improved side. If you look at Harshana, he beat a guy who was ranked 120 in the world a year and a half ago and Dinesh took a set off him. So I think we are getting there and I see this team playing for another two years at least.“People talk about bringing in new players but at what cost? We get another team of young players in, they go and lose because it will be their first time playing international tennis and then you go to Group 3 or Group 4. Then to come back up to Group 2 is a big struggle,” he explained.
Probed on whether it was time for Rajapakse to consider walking away from Davis Cup tennis, considering he is now 32-yeard-old, de Silva expressed that the veteran’s doubles wiles were crucial to the team’s success. He predicted that, fitness permitting, Rajapakse still had a few more years left in him.
Sri Lanka will now meet Lebanon, who lost to New Zealand, with the knowledge that a loss to them would mean demotion to Group 3 of the Asia Oceania region. The side’s Non-Playing Captain says that although training work with Godamanne will be non-existent as he is back in the States, Dineshkanthan will be provided with more foreign exposure through a month or two of competition at international tournaments.
He further added that Sri Lanka would be looking to reacquire the services of leading foreign coach Dominik Utzinger, who instructed the Davis Cup side ahead of their encounter with Pakistan.
“He has a vast knowledge on how to prepare players for tournaments, how to properly play matches and implement game tactics. So hopefully he will be back with us for our tie against Lebanon in April.”
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