Leander Paes will not be seen participating in India's Davis Cup tie against Japan, beginning Friday, as he is yet to recover from a back injury suffered during the US Open. The injury had forced him to pull out of the mixed doubles event at Flushing Meadows.
This will be the second successive Davis Cup tie Paes will have missed. In March, he had pulled out of the tie against Serbia which the Indians lost 1-4 in Novi Sad. India will be playing their World Group playoff tie in Tokyo in the hopes of making the elite Round of 16.
With Paes' withdrawal, doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna, who recently fell out of the top-10 in rankings, will have to shoulder the responsibilities of the second singles. Reserve Vishnu Vardhan has become the fourth member. Paes, who is still in the US, has undergone a MRI
scan to understand the nature of his injury.
E-Paper
