Team Netherlands addressed the media ahead of their Davis Cup tie against India in Bangalore, sharing their thoughts on the playing conditions, facing the home crowd, and their preparation for the weekend’s matches.

Q: Paul, I’ll start with you. Thoughts ahead of this match playing against India, the home nation, plenty of support here. You’ve been here for about three, four days now. What do you make of the playing conditions and what’s the approach like going into this weekend?

Paul Haarhuis: Well, Bangalore has been very nice to us. We’ve had fantastic facilities here. We’ve had everything possible from the Indian Tennis Association for us to organize. So it’s beautiful. Things have been well. We’ve been practicing good for the last four days. But this weekend will be tough. The Indian team is strong and we have a strong team. So I think we’re looking forward to some very tough matches which I think the form of the day is going to depend on who’s going to come out on top.

Q: A question for the captain. Captain, you guys left out your top two singles players. Was it because of the Rotterdam event back home?

Paul Haarhuis: It’s always tough to play a full schedule but in the end I selected these guys and the other guys were not selected.

Q: This is for the captain or to any of you guys. Obviously you don’t play on altitude in many parts of the world. Many places where we have tennis tournaments are not played on altitude. So I want to ask you a little about the conditions. Did it take some adjusting to and how did you manage the heat and everything else?

Guy den Ouden: As you said, we’re not used to the altitude back home, but we’ve been practicing a couple of days now here. I feel like we’ve been practicing well and getting ready, so I think we’re all just excited to get going and start the matches and ready to fight for the team.

Q: Just a follow-up. Paul, you’ve played here in India, have you played here in Bangalore and also have any of your team played here in Bangalore?

Paul Haarhuis: Max was here at the Bangalore Challenger in the beginning of the year. He actually played the last three weeks in India so he’s been more used to it than almost anyone now. And I played in Bangalore recently in 2000. And I played in 96 exactly 30 years ago this week I played in Jaipur. But yeah it’s nice to be back and the conditions are very nice. We came a little bit earlier because of the possible warmth, but the boys coming out of Australia, it was much warmer, the warmth is not a problem. The altitude, and that’s why we took some extra days. Tomorrow is already the fifth day that we’re practicing here and playing. That’s more than enough. Normally you come two or three days before a tournament, you come to the place, so we took some extra days.

Q: Any of you can take it. So you have all had a significant amount of practice here, you said, in the last three, four days. Is there any change in the conditions between afternoon and the lights? Have you noticed any significant shift in the way the courts play, the weather plays between afternoon and late evening?

Sander Arends: Yeah, obviously we have different time schedules. We as doubles guys, we’re going to play at 2 o’clock. So that’s a different thing than if you play at 4, if you play night matches. So now it’s light, it’s warmer, and probably in evening it’s dark and it’s colder. So for sure it has something to do and I think we are prepared for any case, any time. So we are ready.

Q: Hi, again any of you can answer this question. You’ll also be up against a big home crowd and you have a few of them cheering for you here as well. So how do you plan on taking on a crowd that is predominantly going to be against you?

David Pel: Well, I think we love that. We like the energy of the crowd, even if it’s against us. And we have a great support from our team and also the supporters from back home. Look at them. Big applause. No, we’re ready for it. And we’re looking forward to this weekend to see a lot of Indian people.

Q: Dutch women’s team was here in the Billie Jean King Cup not too long ago. Do you guys get any tips from them on how to play on these courts and any good restaurants to go to maybe?

Paul Haarhuis: Yes, we talked about it. Obviously I called the coach from the team and asked her everything I wanted to know. Two or three on our team were on that team also, so they were here a couple months ago. So we had all the information and based on that, it helped us with everything. Yeah, we love the Indian food, so it’s been a treat being here and the spicier the better. And we have our belly dancing specialist here. He will entertain the crowd again Saturday. He’ll do his belly dance after the win. On Sunday, even on Sunday, yes. Anyway, we are well prepared and we’re looking forward to a great match. So, excited to play on Saturday. Thank you.

With preparation complete and spirits high, Team Netherlands wrapped up their press conference ready to take on the challenge of playing India. The visitors are embracing the atmosphere and confident in their ability to compete despite going against the home crowd.