Two days into the tournament and the spark still missing – following Indian ace Sania Mirza's pullout due to injury on the opening day -- in the Sunfeast Open WTA Tour event, the organisers came down with their last ace in their pack to get the tournament off the ground – Sachin Tendulkar.
The Indian batting maestro, along with Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia, finally helped the $175,000 event take wings with a four-game thriller in a front of a motley crowd.
Sachin and Bhutia swapped their spikes and boots for tennis shoes. They got a standing ovation when they took the court in an exhibition doubles match at the Netaji Indoor stadium on Tuesday. Sachin, the lucky one, got Russian beauty Maria Kirilenko as his partner, while Bhutia had the more solid Mahesh Bhupathi to play with.
And for the next 20 minutes or so, the four had the spectators on the edge of their seats, not for the brand of tennis they displayed but for the sheer entertainment. Guess what, Sania, out with a wrist sprain, didn't get to play with hero Sachin, but got a bird's eye view of her idol – donning the chair umpire's role.
A hugely competitive sportsperson, Sachin chased down balls eagerly. He had earlier in the day said that he his second option after cricket was tennis. A big fan of John McEnroe, Sachin showed he was as skilful with the racquet as he is with a cricket bat in his hand.
With flowing forehands and big serves — his backhands were a little suspect — he had the crowd riveted to the action. Sania and Bhupathi were pleasantly surprised at his ability. Unlike his idol, Sachin didn't throw any tantrums when the chair umpire called a couple of good balls out.
Bhutia, on the other hand, got into the groove after a slow start. Sania even allowed him the liberty of using his feet. But by the time the thriller ended, his poaching skills in front of the goal stood him in good stead. The nimble-footed Bhutia showed he can be a dangerous doubles player, moving in for a volley quicker than a tennis player would.  One such shot had Bhupathi nodding his approval. The multiple Grand Slam-winner, without a regular partner, may be tempted to groom Bhutia and take him as his regular partner!