New Delhi : Czech Republic’s number one player Jiri Vesley said that he felt exhausted after just four games and simply failed to sustain himself against a lower ranked Indian Somdev Devvarman in his Davis Cup World Group play-off tie.
Somdev, ranked 164, stunned world No. 40 Vesley 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-3 to draw level against top seeds Czech Republic 1-1.
“It was not normal for me to feel so exhausted after just 3-4 games. I am having some niggles. I think I failed to cope with the conditions here,” said Vesley at the post-match press conference.
Vesley admitted that Somdev pushed him and it was not easy.
“I was not feeling good and it was not easy for me. Somdev played very well. He was pushing me to do more and run around. I could not cope well. Today was not my day,” said Vesley.
Stating that he would not like to use a few niggles as an excuse, Vesley said: “I was not practicing. But I don’t want to give any excuse. I wasn’t physically doing well. I took the responsibility as the number one player in the team. I was mentally ready also. So it is disappointing for me.”
Vesley said that he would be speaking to the doctor and physio of the team and try to “find a solution” before Sunday.
“I will try to be ready by Sunday. I believe I can come back day after tomorrow.”
Another Czech Lukas Rosol had a good day at office as he defeated Yuki Bhambri 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 to give his team the lead.
Rosol admitted that he was happy to have finished the game in three sets as Yuki was starting to get better.
“He came back strongly in the third game. I started to miss and you never know what was going to happened in the fourth set,” said Rosol. “The first two sets were very good.I was serving well and with a lot of confidence. Overall, I am satisfied with my game.”
Asked about his flat and furious ground strokes, Rosol said: “I wanted to hit everything deep and Yuki had no answer to it. So that was the tactic I used. The last few days were hotter. Today the conditions were much cooler with sun playing hide and seek, although the humidity was a factor,” he said.—PTI
