<p>With Rohan Bopanna going down to Victor Troicki in the first tie, onus was on World no 93 Indian to put the visitors campaign on track which he did with aplomb by outclassing World no 45 in the second singles match <br /><br />A formidable doubles player but ranked 629 in singles, Bopanna lost 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6 in the first singles after fighting for three-hours and 19 minutes at Spens Sports Center.<br /><br />Bopanna defied all odds to stage an excellent comeback as he was down by two sets but kept fighting and things changed when he grabbed the must-win third set with a break of serve in the 12th game.<br /><br />Going with the momentum, Bopanna came out firing on all cylinders, reducing the difference between the rankings to a mere number, and stretched the match to the deciding fifth set.<br /><br />A lot of drama followed when Bopanna was serving for the fourth set in the ninth game having broken Troicki in the previous game as he argued with the chair umpire over a call. Already incensed with the home crowd, who were making a lot of noise, Bopanna lost his cool when a call resulted in a double fault.<br /><br />India captain SP Misra was also unhappy as many of the calls earlier also went against Bopanna. However, Bopanna after saving two breakpoints in that game, stunned the crowd by winning the set when a Troicki return hit the net.<br /><br />A great comeback, though, did not produce the desired result for the Indian, who suddenly lost momentum as he dropped his serve twice to go down 0-4 in the deciding set.<br /><br />Troicki raised his game at the crucial juncture and justified his top-20 rank by giving his side a 1-0 lead. Strong on their serves, Bopanna and Troicki played some scintillating tennis throughout. The Indian saved two breakpoints in the opening game, in which he committed three double faults, to eventually hold. <br /><br />Troicki, on the other hand, had more control and fired two aces to start with a bang. Bopanna, known for his booming serves, improved soon and held two consecutive service games at love to lead 3-2.<br /><br />Other World Group results: In Charleroi: Belgium trail Spain 0-2 (Xavier Malisse lt to Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 1-6; Ruben B-emelmans lt to Rafael Nadal 2-6, 4-6, 2-6).<br />In Vienna: Austria trail France 0-1 (Juergen Melzer lt to Jeremy Chardy 5-7, 4-6, 5-7). <br />In Zagreb: Croatia lead Germany 1-0 (Marin Cilic bt Florian Mayer 4-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1). In Buenos Aires: Argentina lead Romania 1-0 (David Nalbandian bt Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4). In Santiago: Chile trail US 0-1 (Nicolas Massu lt to Andy Roddick 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6). In Ostrava: Czech Republic trail Kazakhstan 0-1 (Andrey Golubev lt to Jan Hajek 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-7(4), 3-6).</p>
<p>With Rohan Bopanna going down to Victor Troicki in the first tie, onus was on World no 93 Indian to put the visitors campaign on track which he did with aplomb by outclassing World no 45 in the second singles match <br /><br />A formidable doubles player but ranked 629 in singles, Bopanna lost 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6 in the first singles after fighting for three-hours and 19 minutes at Spens Sports Center.<br /><br />Bopanna defied all odds to stage an excellent comeback as he was down by two sets but kept fighting and things changed when he grabbed the must-win third set with a break of serve in the 12th game.<br /><br />Going with the momentum, Bopanna came out firing on all cylinders, reducing the difference between the rankings to a mere number, and stretched the match to the deciding fifth set.<br /><br />A lot of drama followed when Bopanna was serving for the fourth set in the ninth game having broken Troicki in the previous game as he argued with the chair umpire over a call. Already incensed with the home crowd, who were making a lot of noise, Bopanna lost his cool when a call resulted in a double fault.<br /><br />India captain SP Misra was also unhappy as many of the calls earlier also went against Bopanna. However, Bopanna after saving two breakpoints in that game, stunned the crowd by winning the set when a Troicki return hit the net.<br /><br />A great comeback, though, did not produce the desired result for the Indian, who suddenly lost momentum as he dropped his serve twice to go down 0-4 in the deciding set.<br /><br />Troicki raised his game at the crucial juncture and justified his top-20 rank by giving his side a 1-0 lead. Strong on their serves, Bopanna and Troicki played some scintillating tennis throughout. The Indian saved two breakpoints in the opening game, in which he committed three double faults, to eventually hold. <br /><br />Troicki, on the other hand, had more control and fired two aces to start with a bang. Bopanna, known for his booming serves, improved soon and held two consecutive service games at love to lead 3-2.<br /><br />Other World Group results: In Charleroi: Belgium trail Spain 0-2 (Xavier Malisse lt to Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 3-6, 1-6; Ruben B-emelmans lt to Rafael Nadal 2-6, 4-6, 2-6).<br />In Vienna: Austria trail France 0-1 (Juergen Melzer lt to Jeremy Chardy 5-7, 4-6, 5-7). <br />In Zagreb: Croatia lead Germany 1-0 (Marin Cilic bt Florian Mayer 4-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1). In Buenos Aires: Argentina lead Romania 1-0 (David Nalbandian bt Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4). In Santiago: Chile trail US 0-1 (Nicolas Massu lt to Andy Roddick 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6). In Ostrava: Czech Republic trail Kazakhstan 0-1 (Andrey Golubev lt to Jan Hajek 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-7(4), 3-6).</p>
