Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna scored a facile win over Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov in doubles to give India a crucial 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan here on Saturday.
The Indian duo notched up a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win in an hour-and-a-half much to the delight of the sizeable crowd which turned up to support the home team at the sun-bathed DLTA courts here.
The visitors surrendered to the crafty play of the hosts on grass and never really posed any threat to the Indian supremacy in the lopsided contest.
For Uzbekistan to come back in the Asia Oceania Group I tie, they have a herculean task of winning both their singles matches on Sunday. India’s non-playing skipper Leander Paes chose to field in-form Bopanna in place of Prakash Amritraj and the result was there for everyone to see.
“I took Mahesh’s inputs. The way Rohan performed yesterday, I knew they will be the best combination. It was a strategic decision. It has also given Prakash an extra day to recover. He is looking good to play tomorrow.”
Bopanna carried on his good form with aplomb and shouldered bulk of the responsibility. He packed his serves with power, but it was his crisp volleys that stood out and put to shade his famed partner.
With Bopanna outgunning the Uzbeks, Bhupathi did not have to stretch himself. But when opportunity came, the 10-time Grand Slam winner showed his class and the touch of brilliance that makes him such a formidable doubles player in the world.
Istomin faced problems in holding his serve throughout the match. He dropped his service in first game and then again in the ninth game.
Never broken
The Indian duo was never broken. Although Bhupathi was stretched on occasions, Bopanna faced no such problems in keeping his serves. He ran through his service games and hardly conceded points. The only time he looked uncomfortable was when he served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, and when Uzbekistan managed their only break point, three altogether.
But Bopanna knew how to get out of trouble when nerves tingled. He fired two aces in succession, three in that game, and India were through. India started with a bang and broke Istomin service in the very first game.
Bopanna returned well to set up the break point before Istomin double faulted to hand over the early advantage.
The second set went with the serve, before Istomin again dropped in the seventh. He saved one break point with a deep serve and took the score to deuce but netted Bhupathi’s return in the next chance. Dustov, who looked rusty yesterday, was in good nick and hit the ball with power. But he finally put his serve down in the fifth game of the third set. A fine volley by Bhupathi gave India the break point before he grasped the opportunity with a classy double-fisted backhand return.
