Vishnu Vardhan, Divij Sharan: Together they rock

New Zealand may have hoped to stretch Vishnu Vardhan who was leading 2-1 on Friday against Jose Statham. Tire Vardhan and force him out of the crucial doubles tie. That was New Zealand’s best bet to stay alive in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group-I fixture.

So how long did New Zealand keep Vardhan on court? Just over half-an-hour. Vardhan unleashed his booming serves to win the fourth set and the match 6-2 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2. Now it was time to combine with Divij Sharan for the doubles rubber.

New Zealand changed their strategy, playing Daniel King-Turner in place of Artem Sitak alongside Michael Venus. King-Turner and Venus are a tested combination in any case.

Vardhan had already cleared his big test; would Sharan? The latter displayed remarkable temperament in adverse conditions. Vardhan was exhausted; this day Sharan had to take the lead. How the two complemented each other!

The battle lasted three hours and 52 minutes. The Indian duo prevailed 7-6(3) 4-6 6-3 6-7(4) 6-3 to take an unassailable 3-0 lead. India now have the luxury of trying out young Sanam Singh in the dead rubber in front of his home crowd on Sunday.

While the first set was closely contested, Sharan’s net interceptions and forehand passing shots stood out. They proved vital in the first-set tie-breaker.

The Indians relentlessly attacked Venus’s serve. India broke him early in the second, but New Zealand came back strongly with successive breaks. Venus served out the set as New Zealand drew parity. India got two consecutive breaks in the next set. But the Kiwis continued to push the hosts hard and broke Divij. However, India broke Venus’s serve again and clinched the third set rather convincingly in the end.

The hosts may have rued the three break point chances early in the fourth set. New Zealand kept their poise in the tie-breaker as the contest headed towards a fitting denouement. Vardhan was given a welcome breather in the final set which paid dividends. He came out stronger and spirited. Venus’s consecutive errors in the sixth game gave India the much-needed break to make it 4-2.

New Zealand made a last ditch effort to pressure Vardhan’s service. Vardhan saved two break points to give Sharan a chance to serve for the match. Celebrations broke out when King-Turner netted a forehand.