Calcutta: India's non-playing Davis Cup captain Anand Amritraj doesn't think Maria Sharapova is a cheat.
Sharapova was provisionally suspended by the ITF last month after failing a dope test during the Australian Open.
In town on Saturday after 30 years - the last time was in March 1986 for the Davis Cup match against Czechoslovakia - Anand said: "I am ready to give Maria a benefit of doubt. She has been taking meldonium for so many years and suddenly the Wada puts it on the list. I think somebody in the Maria camp slipped up big time.
"Frankly speaking, I think it was an innocent mistake. You do not look at a Maria Sharapova or a Venus Williams and say 'Well they are on drugs'. They never give you that impression. It's just that they are all super athletes," he said, at the Ordnance Club where Anand had a tennis clinic for the budding players of Enrico Piperno Tennis Trust.
On the match-fixing controversy, which also came to light this year, Anand said he has no idea about that. "I have no idea. I do not think any top player has ever indulged in match-fixing. I am told lower-ranked players could do match-fixing in some obscure tournament, but I have no proof of that also. And in our time, we never needed to fix matches, since there was no money in the game."
Talking about Indian tennis, Anand said India have a good chance of putting it across South Korea when the two meet in a Group I Asia/Ocenia Davis Cup match at home in July. "Yes we have a good chance. We will play at home, which means we have the advantage of choosing the surface. We are mulling over our options. It could be grass or a very fast hardcourt. We have started speaking to the players about which court they would prefer. We have a May 15 deadline to inform the Koreans about the surface. So let's not hurry into things," he said.
According to Anand, there could be some changes in the squad. "There could be some changes according to the surface. South Koreans are a dangerous opposition and we cannot afford to relax. In Chung Hyeon (the world No. 71), they have a very good player. He troubled us when we met last time in 2014, and in two years, he is now a much-improved player," Anand revealed.
Anand though sounded a bit worried about Somdev Dev Varman's loss of form. "Yes it's a cause for worry. He is our best singles player. Somdev is not getting younger. He has a different way of playing. And also lack of weapons is making it a tad difficult for him," he said.
On the Rio Olympics' squad, however, Anand said he does not know who will be going. "Look when it comes the Davis Cup, I have a say in the composition of the squad... But for Rio, though I will be consulted, I do not think I will have much of an influence.
"Olympic Games is a different ball game. In mixed doubles, Switzerland will play Roger Federer and Martina Hingis, while the US may go for one of the Bryan brothers with Serena Williams. I do not know who Sania will be partnering in mixed doubles, but whoever she does, it will be difficult. And in the men's doubles, Rohan Bopanna, by virtute of being the higher-ranked partner, will get a chance to choose his partner. I think Rohan and Leander (Paes) should play the doubles."
Indian tennis was rocked by a bitter mud-slinging game between the star players in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
The former Davis Cupper was also felicitated by the Calcutta South Club on Saturday evening. "I have great memories. Calcutta South Club is something close to my heart. I have played so many memorable matches here. Thirty years have gone by the last time I came to Calcutta... It's like a trip down memory lane," he said.
