Devvarman and Bopanna powered India to the elite Davis Cup World Group by scripting a sensational 3-2 win over Brazil in the play-off tie in Chennai today.
How fortunes change in a matter of two days! On Friday, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman had drawn flak from all corners for losing their respective opening singles rubbers. Suddenly, the hosts were 0-2 down and all hopes rested on the veteran duo of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi.
And deliver they did, giving India a much-needed boost on Saturday. But if Lee and Hesh were clinical on Saturday, Som and Bops were simply devastating on Sunday.
First, India No.1 Devvarman led World No.27 Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (3) 4-0 in the first reverse singles before the Brazilian retired ill after an hour and 26 minutes. Bopanna then thrashed Ricardo Mello 6-3 7-6 (2) 6-3 in the decider to hand India a memorable win in the Davis Cup World Group play-off against Brazil at the sun-baked SDAT Nungambakkam Stadium.
The remarkable fightback takes India back into the elite World Group. India, who had lost to Russia 2-3 in the World Group first round in Moscow in March, had never before won a Davis Cup tie after losing both the opening singles.
It was Brazil’s fifth consecutive defeat in the play-off round since 2006, ending their hopes of returning to the elite 16-nation World Group for the first time since 2003.
This is also the 45th time in Cup history a country has bounced back after being 0-2 down. Meanwhile, Brazil have been relegated to the Americas Zonal Group.
Exuding great camaraderie, the entire team was present for the post-match press conference. Confident and exalted at having scored a fascinating win, the Indians are now looking forward to better exploits in Davis Cup tennis.
It was almost three generations of Indian tennis on view as veteran non-playing captain Shiv Prakash Misra moulded the Indian foursome into becoming a fearsome outfit on the court.
Other results
World Group Semifinals: France beat Argentina 5-0, Serbia tied 2-2 with Czech Republic
World Group Play-offs: Romania beat Ecuador 5-0, Kazakhstan beat Switzerland 5-0, Germany beat South Africa 5-0, Sweden beat
Italy 3-2, Austria beat Israel 3-2, USA lead Colombia 2-1 Australia lead Belgium 2-1.
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