Apart from Mahesh Bhupathi, who did not train on Tuesday since he had arrived late the earlier evening from the US, the entire contingent was put through the paces in an extended practice session that lasted almost for five hours at the NSCI.
Ironically, the two oldest players present -- Paes and Mankad were the ones to last the entire session, which was rounded off with a friendly game of
With Bopanna still on the recovery path from a knee injury, Mankad, the reserve player on the team proved why he is such a damn good sparring partner. On a high after impressive performances in the three ITF Futures tournaments in India, including a double in the Chandigarh leg, the Mumbai player pushed Amritraj during practice. Though not a natural on grass-court player, Mankad is looking keener to attack and tested Amritraj's movement on the court.
Whether Mankad will get a game will largely depend on how Bopanna's knee, which is getting "better" everyday, holds up.
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