Davis Cup: I adapted well to grass: Italy’s Seppi

Kolkata, Feb 2 (IANS) Italy's seniormost player Andreas Seppi on Saturday said he adapted well to the grass and liked playing on the surface after helping his side breeze past India 3-1 to qualify for the Davis Cup Finals.

"I think I played well in two singles. I was solid so I think I adapt well to the grass. I like to play on this surface," said the 34-year-old ranked 37th in the world.

India chose the grass court of the Calcutta South Club as the venue for their World Cup Qualifier knowing that Italians have not done well on the surface in recent years.

But save the doubles tie, where Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan prevailed over Simone Bolleli and Matteo Berrettini, Italy won three singles rubbers convincingly with Seppi starring in the two.

In the draw, Italy captain Corrado Barazzutti had put Seppi ahead of the top ranked Marco Cecchinato to play the singles.

He lived up to the expectations by beating both India's top two singles players -- Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran -- in straight sets over two days.

Asked about Ramkumar and Prajnesh, Seppi said they have the potential and can do better.

"The Indian players are doing well. They are around 100 in the rankings. For sure they can improve. Especially, on the faster surface they can do well. We'll see how they do this year."

Asked about the new format, Seppi said: "I always liked playing best of five, but am getting older. For me, it's better to play shorter matches."

Berrettini said playing on the grass was important for him early on in the year.

"I did not play so much on the grass. Every match is important for me. The grass season is far away from now. I had a good experience here."

"I think the grass here is quite different from Wimbledon and other tournaments. Last year I was not feeling that good on the grass. Now I have indoors and clay season, I have to stay focused on that."

In the lighter vein, Barazzutti said they do not have grass courts in Italy, only gardens. "We do not have the grass in Italy. We have a garden. We do not play tennis in the garden."