Indian Davis Cup captain Leander Paes says the two-month lay-off from injury will not hamper his performance against China in the Asia-Oceania zone Group 1 first round tie, to be held in Delhi from March 4 to 6.
Paes, who played his first match this week since injuring his ankle in a Sydney event prior to the Australian Open, said he felt a bit rusty but is confident of getting into the groove quickly.
"I was a bit rusty. But tennis is not going to take long. I just need to pace myself into the tie (Davis Cup)," said Paes, who lost in the first round doubles of the Dubai Open.
The 31-year-old, who flew in on Friday, had his first hit on grass courts, his favourite surface, in months with Vishal Uppal and Vivek Shokeen at the NSCI Courts on Saturday morning.
"I had a good session. I am playing after a long time on grass but surely it does not take a long time to get back on grass," he added.
The Indian captain said selection of the second singles player would be a tough job given the good form of Harsh Mankad, who won the Satellite circuit in Britain this week.
"Harsh is the player in form and Prakash [Amritraj] is a good serve and volley player. So it [selection] will be a difficult job for me.
"But we have a whole week ahead and we can judge who has acclimatised to the conditions well and how everyone is playing.
"Harsh's past performances in Davis Cup make you think that you should look at a younger player. But he is now a player in form and is coming in with a winner's mindset. It makes my job more difficult," Paes said.
Paes, who has shouldered the Indian challenge in the Davis Cup for 15 years now, said he would now like the youngsters to stand up and take up the responsibility.
On the strategy against China, he said India could beat any country in Asia if they concentrate on playing their natural game and hence he is focussed on that.
India has a 2-0 head-to-head record against China. The last time they played on grass at Kolkata in 1999, the hosts emerged runaway 5-0 winners in the Group 1 relegation play-off.
The multiple Grand Slam winner was all praise for Sania Mirza and said her achievements are great for Indian tennis.
But the 18-year-old from Hyderabad would now have her work cut out as she would have to live up to the expectations every time she steps on the court, he added.
Team coach Nandan Bal expressed satisfaction over the first training session.
On the arrival programme of other players, he said almost all of them would be in Delhi on Saturday and though they are unaware of the travel plans of Mankad, they are hopeful that the player would also join the team's practice session on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Chinese team will arrive in Delhi on Sunday.
