Leander Paes confirmed for Davis Cup tie against Serbia

Veteran star Leander Paes is set to combine with Rohan Bopanna for the doubles rubber during the Davis Cup tie against Serbia, Indian captain Anand Amritraj confirmed on Sunday but he says nothing has been decided on the Asian Games squad as yet.

The inclusion of 41-year-old Paes in the side means that originally selected Saketh Myneni, who made his Davis Cup debut against Chinese Taipei early this year, will miss out. The tall and big serving player will now be a reserve along with Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ramkumar Ramanathan.

‘Yes, Leander will play with Rohan in the doubles,’ Amritraj, the non-playing captain, told PTI from Bangalore. ‘It was Rohan who approached Leander first and then I got in touch with him. I spoke to him and he agreed to play,’ Amritraj said.

Asked if Myneni won’t feel that he has been ousted from the playing squad, the US-based Amritraj replied in a negative.

‘He’s absolutely fine. I have spoken to him. He had a rough idea that it might happen,’ he said about Myneni. Talking about the Asian Games squad, from where the top Indian stars intend to pull out, Amritraj said nothing has been decided as yet and status quo remains. ‘It’s still the same. Rohan, Leander, Sania (Mirza) are still there in the squad. I have a meeting with AITA officials and we will decide about it later, there’s no hurry,’ he said.