Spain did not need their best players to beat India but then they are taking the World Group Davis Cup play-off tie very "seriously", bringing a strong 20-member contingent to tackle the lower-ranked home players.
led by world number four Rafael Nadal, the Spaniards landed here in the morning and hit the courts in the evening.
After watching Nadal and David Ferrer indulge in an intense session lasting one hour and 30 minutes, it was not difficult to conclude that the Indian players have fire to deal with.
Nadal said it is humid but the courts are good for some good tennis. Asked if he liked the evening timing for the tie, the 14-time Grand Slam champion, covered in sweat-soaked T-shirt, said it was "very necessary".
"The court is good, it's very humid. First day, we had a long trip. To be in India again is nice. I have been here a lot of times in last couple of years. I feel good here, good people, good crowd."
When asked what made Spain bring big players to India, Nadal said winning the World Group place back was a "motivation".
"I am representing my country and that's always special motivation. There's always confrontation when you are not playing at home, so difficult. India have a good team, it will be tough. They will be playing at home in front of home crowd in conditions they chose. We have lots of good players in top-100, it's tough for us not to be in world group, so we are looking forward to coming back to the world group, and that's the chance to win here, it's not going to be easy. We need to be ready and play our best," he said.