Press Trust of India
New Delhi, Sept 19: Leander Paes, partnering Rohan Bopanna, suffered a rare doubles defeat in Davis Cup as Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek gave Czech Republic a 2-1 lead over India in the World Group play-off tie, here Saturday.
It was one rubber in which India entered as favourites but the fancied team was tamed by the Czechs 5-7, 2-6, 2–6 in two hours and 10 minutes. It was Paes’ only second defeat in a Davis Cup doubles in the last 15 years. The last defeat had also come with Bopanna against Uzbekistan in an away tie in 2012.
The result leaves Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri with a daunting task of winning both the reverse singles Sunday if India are to re-enter the elite 16-nation World Group.
Bopanna, World No. 13 in doubles rankings, was rusty as he lacked control over his shots and there was no sting in his serve either. Most of the half-volley pick-ups Bopanna made went outside the lines. Even though he improved his serve in the third set, India could never recover after being two sets down.
On the other hand, Adam packed a lot of punch in his shots with impressive hand and eye co-ordination. His returns were solid and at the net he was a delight to watch. He hardly missed a shot and was a winner in his duels with both Paes and Bopanna.
Paes was more in control of his shots and made less errors than his compatriot. However, Paes dropped his serve four times in the match and Bopanna thrice. Stepanek, who won two Grand Slams with Paes, was solid his service games and the Czechs lost serve only twice, both times Pavlasek failed to hold.
The Indian duo was always playing catch up after Bopanna lost his serve in the fifth game of the opening set. His backhand went soaring over the baseline that put the Indians down by a breakpoint. The Czechs capitalised on another error from the Indian. And that pattern continued throughout the tie.
