May 11: India were on Tuesday drawn to face Brazil in their Davis Cup World Group playoffs in Chennai from September 17 to19, with the winner advancing to next year’s top flight.
In the past, the sides have met twice and have a 1-1 head-to-head record.
“It’s great to have a home tie finally. It would be interesting to play Brazil and I definitely think we have a shot at getting back to the World Group,” Rohan Bopanna told this paper on the day.
India’s No. 1 Somdev Devvarman has achieved a career-best ranking of 109, while Bopanna is an experienced campaigner in the Davis Cup.
Brazil boast of a strong side with both their singles players Thomaz Belluci (26) and Daniel Marcos (91) in top-100.
“Bopanna tells me we have drawn Brazil at home (in chennai). Finally a big home tie. Should be a good one,” Mahesh Bhupathi said on his Twitter page.
In 1966, the Indian team comprising of Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaideep Mukerjea, S.P. Misra, the current non-playing captain, and late Premjit Lall beat Brazil 3-2 in Calcutta in the inter-zonal final to reach the Challenge round against Australia. In 1991, Brazil defeated India 4-1 at home.
Earlier this year, India lost 2-3 to Russia in the World Group first round in Moscow, the first time they had reached the top tier since 1998.