Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji were sure-footed in their straight sets win over the Uzbekistan team of Farrukh Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev on Saturday, with the crowd raucously cheering them on.

Underlying the overwhelming support to the newly banded pair, there was also an air of finality that came about among the fans. That this time around, there would be no Leander Paes leading from the front in India’s bid to widen their lead over their opponents.

As Scroll.in made its way into the stands, trying to get a feel on the fans’ perspective of Paes not playing in the tie, opinions varied from the team needing a core group of singles players to the younger players receiving a chance to represent their country.

Putting the team over the player

Beyond looking at the emotional connect of what Paes has had brought into the Indian tennis scenario, especially on the Davis Cup front, tennis enthusiasts Prashant and Karthik put forth that the team’s current needs necessitated Bopanna’s selection over Paes.

“In a place like Bangalore with quicker conditions, definitely Bopanna was the better option. Leander is not just two steps slower, he’s about three or four steps slower,” mentioned Prashant, who found agreement in Karthik. The latter also went on to add that contrary to growing perception that Bhupathi’s lack of amicableness with Paes being the reason for Paes’ exclusion from the squad, the technical factors had a bigger say in determining the team lineup.

“I would be naive to say that it [their acrimony with each other] didn’t play a role,” Karthik said, before adding, “Irrespective of the bad blood between them, the correct decision has been taken.”

When results prompt decisiveness

Bengaluru resident Deepa said that she spent some time looking at the team when they came out on the court, trying to find where Paes was. In spite of her disappointment of Paes not playing the tie, Deepa added that the team seemed to be in a good place. “[So], that’s OK. It’s good that the young guys get a chance [as well],” she observed.

Deepa’s friend Jeswin stated outright that he wasn’t concerned either way about Paes not included the team. He, however, did add, “If Leander would have played, it would have been great. [But], I am sure Bhupathi would have had his reasons for not picking Leander irrespective of their disconnect. It would have been a technical decision.”

Not all fans were so quick to be amenable to Bhupathi’s selection, with a couple of them adopting a wait and watch attitude about taking a stance. Teerth, who had come to watch the tie with his wife and young daughter, pointed out, “I am not sure [about Paes not being selected]. We have to see the performance [of the youngsters]. This is the first time [in a long time] he’s sitting out. So, the consequences will have to be seen.”

The ‘greatness’ factor

One aspect, however, in which all fans were unanimous in their thinking was about the immense contribution Paes has made to Indian tennis. And, it’s because of this that they feel that him trying to go for Nicola Pietrangeli’s record is not as important as it’s being made out to be.

“I have been a huge fan of Paes since the 1990s, when he won his singles matches against Goran [Ivanisevic] and Wayne Ferreira. [But] do we need to go for the record?” remarked Prashant, further stating, “His record is great as it is. For fans, Leander is already great.”

It was Karthik, who rounded off the conversation, summing it up as, “I hope Leander gets to that mark. For, [he’s] someone, who is India’s greatest non-cricketing icon in a country where cricket is worshipped. [But] I hope he gets to it in a situation that’s more for it.”