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Bopanna, Istomin ensure parity

Kamesh Srinivasan

Paes faces a tough call on picking Bhupathi’s doubles partner

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

FIRED UP: Rohan Bopanna, who did not lose a single point on serve till his seventh service game, rated the win over Farrukh Dustov as one of his best ever.

NEW DELHI: Rohan Bopanna provided the team with a dream start but Somdev Dev Varman’s limitations on grass prevented India from dominating the opening day’s proceedings against Uzbekistan in the Asia-Oceania Group ‘I’ Davis Cup tie on the grasscourts of the R.K. Khanna Stadium here on Friday.

A 1-1 start was very much on the cards after grasscourt specialist Prakash Amritraj was kept out of action on the opening day to help him regain sufficient strength — following an upset stomach — for the climax, and it was only natural that the non-playing captain Leander Paes rated the day as a “success, but not a grand success.”

On a gloomy day when a slight drizzle delayed the start by more than an hour, Bopanna served and volleyed with élan in racing to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory over Farrukh Dustov in just over an hour. While Bopanna dropped the first point on his serve only in his seventh service game in what he rated as one of the best matches he has ever played, the towering Uzbek across the net was like a fish out of water and did not have the temperament to cope with the situation.

To the great relief of Uzbekistan, Denis Istomin asserted his class as Asian champion, even as he exposed debutant Dev Varman’s inadequacies on the unpredictable surface with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win in two hours.

The obvious pick

Paes was all praise for Bopanna and said that he would be the obvious choice for the crucial doubles match on Saturday with Mahesh Bhupathi, but said he was equally concerned about giving Amritraj some feel of the court to make him ready for a possible key match against Dustov in the fifth rubber.

“I will discuss the issue with Mahesh, Prakash and Rohan. Obviously, we will have to see who Mahesh is most comfortable playing with,” said Paes.

Bopanna said that he was prepared to play his best on all three days as he had started liking the surface.

“If I play the way I did today, there is no reason why I can’t repeat the result in the first match on Sunday against Istomin,” he said.

The Uzbek camp let Istomin do all the talking and he regaled the media with his straightforward answers.

“I am very happy that it is 1-1. Somdev played very well. His game is not for grass, not that grass is my favourite surface. We should play on clay,” said Istomin with a smile.

As Paes pointed out, Dev Varman had breakpoints in many games — 13 of them in all to be precise, but managed to convert only one. It showed the lack of experience.

“He came up with pretty big serves and we have to give him credit,” said Dev Varman.

“Everybody says we have no chance in the doubles, but we will try to win the doubles,” said Istomin, who also conceded that his team’s doubles combination would be decided only after the discussion with the team.

Istomin warned that Dustov could play much better than what he had shown and that he would be a different player in the climax on the final day when he plays the fifth rubber.

The results: India 1 vs Uzbekistan 1 (Rohan Bopanna bt Farrukh Dustov 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; Somdev Dev Varman lost to Denis Istomin 3-6, 4-6, 2-6).

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