Yuki Bhambri will miss India’s forthcoming Davis Cup Asia/Oceania second-round tie against Uzbekistan later this week because of an injury to his knee.
The former Indian No 1 in men’s singles was looked upon as the spearhead to challenge the Uzbekistan lineup led by Denis Istomin. Bhambri’s unexpected withdrawal has, however, dented India’s hopes of seeking a place in the World Group Play-offs for the fourth consecutive year.
Bhambri’s pulling out of the tournament has also made the inclusion of either Leander Paes or Rohan Bopanna, who have been selected as reserves, certain in the final four-member team roster for the tie that will be held from April 7-9.
Incidentally, Paes, won his 20th ATP Challenger tournament in Leon, Mexico, partnering Canada’s Adil Shamasdin on Saturday. It was also the 43-year-old’s first men’s doubles title for this season.
Speaking on the injury-forced setback to the Indian hopes, the team’s non-playing skipper Mahesh Bhupathi commented, “Yuki is out of picture and it’s a big blow. He was playing well this year. He had some pain, he had some tests and I found out two days ago.”
After missing out most parts of the 2016 season because of tennis elbow, the 24-year-old Bhambri has had been trying to make a comeback in 2017. He had finished 2016 ranked outside the top-500, but following consistent results in the ITF Futures and the ATP Challenger Tour in the first quarter of 2017, Bhambri upped his ranking significantly and had come closer to breaking into the top-200 again.
In March, he posted back-to-back semi-final finishes in the Challenger tournaments in Zhuhai and Shenzhen. He also reached the quarter-finals of the Quanzhou Challenger tournament.
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