On Even keel

Bopanna sizzles, Varman fizzles, scores tied 1-1 after opening singles

NEW DELHI: At the end of Day One of hostilities between India and Uzbekistan, the host team was in a comfortable position tied 1-1. Rohan Bopanna played flawless tennis against a listless Farrukh Dustov who seemed to have been lulled into a daze by the terrible bounce of the grass court at the DLTA complex, allowing Bopanna to march to a 6-3 6-3 6-1 win. Denis Istomin came in next to overwhelm Somdev Dev Varman, making his Davis Cup debut, 6-3 6-4 6-2.

From India’s point of view, the strategy to exploit the weaker Dustov seems to be bearing fruit, as he is quite uncomfortable on grass and put in minimal effort to stem his fall. The fact that Bopanna is playing some of his sharpest tennis also did not aid the Uzbek’s cause much. The key to winning on this court is to command the net given the fact that the bounce is extremely crazy. Bopanna executed his volleys with considerable ease and such was his authority while serving that his first six service games saw Dustov unable to win a single point.

Varman was unable to affect any miracles against the much-sharper Denis Istomin who is an altogether different player now from the one that Prakash Amritraj beat two years ago. Istomin hit the ball harder and was far more consistent against the Indian who constantly struggled to come to terms with the unpredictable bounce. Varman is primarily a hardcourt player and his marked reluctance to follow up a hard shot to the net proved to be his undoing against a player who did not let too many opportunities go by.

However, Varman was loath to make any excuses after the match. “It was not the best day for me but I am not going to say that he won because of the grass. In fact, I am quite comfortable on it. I just fell too short literally as my strokes were not going deep enough,” he said.

The crucial poser now is, who plays with Mahesh Bhupathi in the crucial doubles on Saturday. With Bopanna making short work of his match today, he saved on sweating too much and says he is ready to play all three days if required. “I have been working hard off the court and I don’t see it as an issue.”

Paes is quite clear that he would ask Bhupathi to make the choice between Amritraj and Bopanna. Given the kind of form that Bopanna has been in, he would be the obvious choice. But then Bhupathi should be able to win even in the company of Amritraj, given his expertise in the sport’s twosome format.