“Where’s the party tonight Saketh?” yelled Zeeshan Ali from across the room, leaving everyone in splits. Such was the occasion that it made even the ever-composed India coach shed his inhibitions and be vocal about his emotions.
A tub of ice was emptied on Saketh Myneni’s head, sending shivers down his spine, quite literally. The youngster had just smashed a winner and stood rooted to the ground as the crowd erupted in joy while the tricolour was unfurled and waved relentlessly at the ITC Tennis Stadium. Myneni and veteran Rohan Bopanna had just won their doubles rubber and sealed India’s 3-0 victory over the Chinese Taipei in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie on Saturday.
The audience were treated to a victory lap with the players carrying non-playing captain Anand Amritraj on their shoulders. Pomp and patriotic fervour marked the celebrations as the hosts set up a second round clash with Korea Republic, vying for a place in the World Group play-offs.
It was a dream debut for the 26-year-old Myneni as the hosts completed the formalities in just two days, making the reverse singles matches on Sunday inconsequential. “When I hit the shot, it took a while for the victory to sink in and then I was like ‘Oh we just won’,” said Myneni. “Rohan asked me to be aggressive and I did just that.”
With Lee Hsin-Han injured, their No 1 player in the squad Tsung-Hua Yang partnered Hsien-Yin Peng for the doubles match. After being served a bagel in the first set, the duo fought back to win the second through tie-breaker. But they had no answer to Bopanna’s serve as he dished out 18 aces and dominated the net play to take India home with a 6-0, 6-7(3/7), 6-3, 7-6(7/2) win.
The Bangalorean was all praise for his partner, who left no stone unturned to provide as much support as possible. “Saketh plays fantastic doubles, I have played against him before. All I had to do was keep him motivated. We combined really well and it is easy to play with someone who serves 25-30kms faster than me. So all credit to him,” said Bopanna. “He has all the tools to be a top level player. And if he continues this way, there’s no stopping him whatsoever,” he added.
In the absence of seasoned players like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, the duo’s performance comes as a breath of fresh air and could churn out more such wins for India in the future. It’s just one match down but this pair have certainly made the job of the selectors a tad easier.
Earlier in the day, marathon man Somdev Devvarman looked rejuvenated as he took to court to complete his five-setter against Ti Chen. And the Indian took just eight minutes to give India a 2-0 lead, not letting the previous day’s anxious moments haunt him. He set aside his defensive mindset and attacked from the word go to win 6-7(4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-2, 9-7.
“A player cannot pull off a marathon five-setter on his own and it takes contribution from the entire team to eke out such a win,” Somdev said. “I am so relieved that I won. This morning, Yuki sent a message with a picture saying ‘keep calm boys’. They all kept me incredibly calm,” he added. Coach Zeeshan said the team functioned as a unit and it was their bonding that saw them through. “It’s been years since we saw all players assemble on the same day ahead of the Davis Cup. All of us were here on Sunday and ever since there hasn’t been a single meal we haven’t had together,” Zeeshan said.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Sport / by Krithika Gopalkrishnan / ENS – Indore / February 02nd, 2014
