Paes plays to the beat of passion

There is no one in Indian tennis, maybe even Indian sport, that electrifies and energises the crowd quite like Leander Paes.

Even on a day when he threatened to look his age, 41, Leander didn't let go of the passion and commitment that has seen him surmount many a difficult mountain. The deeper the match went, the bigger the point, the better he played. He charged up his teammate, Rohan Bopanna, and the 7,000-strong crowd at the KSLTA stadium to pull off an unlikely 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 8-6 win over a formidable doubles team of Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac.

It once again needed a super man effort for Leander to keep India's hopes hanging by the fingers in a tie that was headed for a 3-0 demolition on Saturday. And it was the kind of dig-deep victory that might well force Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri search deeper into their reserves to pull off a miracle in the reverse singles on Sunday.

Though the Serbs are also a patch-up team, they were a formidable pair, with perhaps the best modern-day combination in doubles: a doubles specialist and a sharp singles player with a big serve. They blitzed the Indians in the first set, breaking both Bopanna and Paes, winning the opener in 18 minutes.

The Indian pair put up a more solid show in the second set, stretching it into the tie-break despite losing serve early on. But the Serbs, built like bulls and who made the court shrink, came up with the goods to clinch it at four. Bozoljac, the youngest, least experienced and by far the lowest ranked player on court (227 to Zimonjic's 4, Paes' 35 and Bopanna's 27), was taking the attack to the Indians, setting up points with solid groundstrokes. Serbians really did not have a soft spot that the Indians could attack.

But at two sets and a break (2-3) down in the third set, something snapped. Zimonjic said he heard a click in the right side of his neck, the man was in pain. He called the trainer on the court, got it quickly treated, but was never the same player again.

The 38-year-old doubles veteran said the injury restricted his movement, he couldn't really turn his neck either side or look up to serve without feeling a stab of pain.

That was just the break the Indians were looking for to arrest the slide. Not only was Zimonjic not at his 100 per cent, but the injury timeout gave the hosts some time to re-gather their thoughts.
"Anand kept telling us, guys slow the game down, its all happening too fast," said Paes.
A quick break back was just the elixir of life that Paes/Bopanna and the downcast crowd at the stadium was looking for. As the Indian players were finally warmed up to the challenge, Paes pulled off some running volleys, and a backhand smash, that got the crowd going.

India won six games in a row, going from an almost out 2-3 in the third to 2-0 in the fourth to stun the Serbs. Even the solid Bozoljac, who tried to do his best to carry the team with some stunning down-the-line returns, cracked.

"I am still trying to figure out how we lost that match; we had it in the pocket," a bemused and shocked 'Bozo' said at the media conference.
"I keep replaying the match in my mind and I still don't know how we lost. I don't know what happened there."

What happened was Leander Paes. His crowd, their hero. It was a match even more formidable rivals have found difficult to resist. Paes' ability, even when constricted with a pedestrian serve and a slowing body, to turn up for the big matches and big points is peerless. Bozoljac, who along with Zimonjic earned the biggest scalp in doubles by beating the Bryans in the Davis Cup last year, just didn't see it coming.

He also had with him a partner who was ready to ride the wave. As Leander's presence grew in the arena, so did Bopanna's confidence. He stopped fluffing the easy volleys and started sending down serves that have earned the nickname 'Bofors Bopanna'.

The Serbians did put up a more solid performance in the fifth set, but something had already snapped and the momentum had swung so much in India's favour that there was going to be just one result. A happy finish for India.

How India lost out on the home advantage

Players love to remind the media that hindsight is a good thing.

But even before Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman put up an uninspiring (baffling in Bhambri's case) show on the first day of the Davis Cup World Group tie against Serbia, there was unease at the conditions we were making them play in.

With the younger generation of tennis players not comfortable with putting on their grass shoes, the one big ace up India's sleeve to seize that home advantage is the weather. And the tennis federation didn't really make the best use of it by having the tie in Bangalore, which at this time of the year is much cooler and less humid than other major cities with tennis courts (namely Chennai). To top it, the Indian agreed for at afternoon start which means the Serbians would not really be pushed out of their comfort zone weather-wise, especially in the second match of the day that started in the evening and was played out under lights.

Also India deluding themselves that the altitude would have worked in their favour was brutally exposed. The Indian players, especially the singles lot, is not any more used to playing at an altitude than the Serbians. The only Davis Cup tie they have played in Bangalore before was the one against Indonesia, and that is hardly a yardstick.

Bhambri especially looked unable to read or control the flying ball: the result of which was 59 unforced errors, a majority of them on his dominant forehand side. The 22-year-old didn't just have a bad day, he had a day that raise major doubts about his tactical flexibility and mental staying power.
"When we made the decision to have the tie in Bangalore we did not know that Novak Djokovic would not come, or (Janko) Tipsarevic would not come," replied Somdev Devvarman in defence. "We made a decision that looked the best under those circumstances."

In fairness, Somdev has performed well in tournaments that are played in these conditions, especially the one in Johannesburg. But Serbia adapted admirably to the challenge and turned in two nerveless performances. They chose their spots and hit them with clinical precision. No frills. Though they were amply helped by Somdev and Yuki's inability to stay hit deep or come up with any sort of alternative game plan, the young Serbs' superiority was kind of overwhelming.

Mathematically, at least, the tie is not over yet and the doubles rubber today between Leander Paes/Rohan Bopanna and Nenad Zimonjic/Ilija Bozoljac promises to be a more even contest.
Somdev also believes that the reverse singles with be much better match-ups for him as well as Yuki. But the assurance with which Serbia's No 4 and 5 played against India's best talent makes the hope for a miracle a hollow occupation.

He ate a sandwich while McEnroe ranted on

Bangalore: Even as Novak Djokovic gave Bangalore a miss, Slobodan Zivojinovic lent 'star power' to the Serbian team as he trudged onto the court on Wednesday.

Courtesy: Srdjan Stevanovic

The 51-year-old 'Bobo', though a far cry from his old fit self, still displayed the touch that had the Serbian team in practice burst into cheers.

A big-server in his heydays in the 1980s and 90s, Zivojinovic is one of the irresistible characters that gives tennis its credence to individuality. One of his best moments came when he beat John McEnroe in the 1985 Australian Open quarterfinal. And it wasn't without drama.

"John McEnroe likes a bit of controversy," Zivojinovic recalls on the side lines of the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie between Serbia and India, which begins in Bangalore on Friday. "He was having an argument with the umpire, ranting on. I just put my feet up and had a sandwich in the middle of the court. I just joined some spectators and had a sandwich with them. I let him finish his performance. Of course, that pissed him off even more. It was nice that I beat him 6-0 in the fifth set."

Zivojinovic (career-best ranking of 19), is that breed of players from a united Yugoslavia, who began his tennis life constantly being mistaken for playing 'table tennis'--since the lawn tennis version hadn't really caught on. He survived the separation of states into smaller republics and losing his teammates to it, and is finally seeing Serbia rise strong as a tennis nation.

"In 1991 we were supposed to play the Davis Cup semifinal and it was a big achievement for us. But the war broke out in the summer," Zivojinovic says about the dark times. 

"My two teammates, (Goran) Ivanisevic and (Goran) Prpic, were Croats so they played for Croatia after that because that’s when our tennis separated. We had put such a lot of effort to build that team. I was sad to lose out on my friends; this was not our war."

Contarary to the demonstrations of a bitter rivalry between Croatia and Serbia now, Zivojinovic says he is proud that such small countries with such meagre population and resources have taken the tennis world by storm.

"Only 13 countries who have won the Davis Cup till now (in its 114-year history), one of them is Serbia and one of them is Croatia," he says. "That's a big achievement. More than the facilities it is because of the traditions. People of Yugoslavia always respected sport and were not afraid to give their kids to it."

And from Zivojinovic to the recently-crowned US Open champion Main Cilic of Croatia, the kids are doing alright.