We're not thinking about making history, want to take fight to opponents: India captain Vishal Uppal

Bengaluru, Nov 13 (PTI) India’s non-playing captain Vishal Uppal on Thursday said his side is not obsessed with “creating history” but is focussed on giving a fight to two strong opponents and advance to next year’s Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers.

India will be up against higher-ranked Slovenia (on Saturday) and the Netherlands (on Sunday) in the playoffs, starting here from Friday, and the home side needs to top the Group G to enter its first-ever Qualifiers.

"We're not thinking about making history. We're focusing on our process. We're going up against two very quality teams. They have excellent players," Uppal said during the pre-tournament press meet at the KSLTA on Thursday.

Uppal said they need to execute their game plans well, and then external aspects like making history will take care of itself.

"We have to focus on our plans and how well we can execute them. Making histories is in the future, we have no control over it. What we have control over is what the effort and the attitude we're going to come up with.

“We want to take the fight to our opponents and see what happens. Team competition is infamous or famous for the underdogs pulling off a big one in the big league. So, we're just going to concentrate on what we have to do and give 100% every day,” he said.

The former Indian Davis Cup player also said playing in front of a partisan home crowd will not add any pressure on the team.

“It's definitely an honour and it's very special for all of us. It's the first time India is hosting the playoffs. So, I think Indian women's tennis is definitely on the right path.

“We don't think playing in India is a lot of pressure. I think playing in India is a privilege for us and we're very excited to play here," he said.

At 309, Sahaja Yamalapalli is India’s No.1 ranked player and she will have to play a massive hand in pulling the team through against two superior teams.

Sahaja had shown her calibre with a win over former US Open champion Sloane Stephens last month, and it has boosted her confidence.

“I am definitely happy with the way I played that day against Sloane. I mean, I feel confident. But most important is that I have my team here and we're pushing each other.

“And that's what brings me more excitement and confidence because it's a completely different environment here — playing in the home country, playing with the home crowd,” she said.

Promising Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, ranked 381, too banked on the team factor to give a good account of herself.

“I think it's great that we have each other supporting us and we are fighting for each other on court and we know we can rely on each other also. In other times of the year, we're always by ourselves.

“So, it's great that there's a team around us and we can always fall back on each other. We have a great camaraderie as a team. I think it just brings a different perspective to us also,” she noted.

Doubles specialist Prarthana Thombare said the underdogs tag will benefit India.

"We are the underdogs. We have seen them (Netherlands and Slovenia) quite a lot, but they have not seen us. So, it’s also coming as a positive way, I would say. So yeah, we're really excited to see,” she said.

Netherland’s Suzan Lamens, the highest ranked singles player in the event at number 87, said she wanted to win the matches for the team rather than worrying about the favourite tag.

“I think the team doesn't expect me to win every time I step on the court. They're just trying to help me to perform my best on court.

“Of course, I'm feeling a bit of pressure but it's more that I'm playing for my country and I want to win. It's not because I'm the highest ranked player,” said Lamens.

The 26-year-old Dutch was not too concerned about the crowd support for India.

“We are used to playing tournaments and we've played many country ties. You know that if you play against India there will be more people on the other side. So, I think we will be fine,” she said.

Slovenia will start their campaign with a match against fancied Netherlands, but Slovenia’s non-playing captain Masa Zec Peskiric was wary of the threat India will pose in their conditions.

“We don't have a lot of experience playing against them. I think the most experienced here is Dalila (Jakupovic) because she played all of them. So I think she's going to be a great help for us. I think even though we're ranked higher than them, they're from here, they have all the support.

“We're will have to play very well and do our best. But I think they're making history for India. So, it's kind of a privilege to play against them,” said Peskiric. PTI UNG AT AT