leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna went down tamely to Czech pair Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek in the Davis Cup on Saturday to give the latter a 2-1 advantage in the World Group Playoff tie.
India were heavy favourites for the doubles rubber — more than the singles — but at the end of the day, Paes and Bopanna barely pushed the Czech pairing in the searing heat and humidity.
The Indians were easily beaten 5-7, 2-6, 2-6 in a match lasting two hours and 10 minutes.
Paes and Somdev’s lack of chemistry and co-ordination was visible as 20-year-old Pavlasek shone brightly in tough conditions and - on paper - against a stronger side.
While the Czech team was in the capital practicing since Monday, Paes only arrived in New Delhi from his home in Mumbai on Wednesday evening after winning the US Open mixed doubles title with Martina Hingis on Saturday. Since his arrival, Paes only practiced with Bopanna twice while other players had started to assemble on Saturday.
Bopanna, who has had a good year with his Brazilian partner Florin Mergea where they reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon and quarter-finals of the US Open, looked out of sorts with his volleys and his normally powerful serve missed the sting. He had his serve broken three times in the match and Paes had his serve broken four times which made the difference in the end. On the other hand, the Czech’s were broken only twice.
While Bopanna’s game dropped from his regular performance on the tour, young Pavlasek was sharp in his play. The 146th ranked Pavlasek, playing only his second Davis Cup match, played with confidence at the net, from the back and most importantly, returned serves very well.
After showers during the night and in the morning, the sun was out in full flow when the players walked out on court. The teams were locked at 2-2 in the first set before Bopanna hit a backhand long to bring up the first break point of the match. Needing no second chances, the Czech duly converted with Bopanna making another backhand error.
Thereafter, all players held serve with relative ease before Pavlasek showed first signs of nerves. Serving for the set at 5-4, he double faulted on set point. At deuce, the Indian pairing made two great serve returns and the respective partner at the net finished the job off to give glimmer of hope.
However, that was dashed immediately with Paes getting broken back in the next game. With two perfect points, Pavlasek showed that the nerves were only momentary. He first forced an error off Bopanna and on break point, he forced another error after a neat exchange at the net.
The second set saw the Indian duo being broken thrice in succession but even though they broken Pavlasek once, it didn’t prove to be enough pressure to cause a comeback.
In the third game, Bopanna made an error after playing a really good point up until then. Paes and Bopanna saved one but couldn’t save the other as Paes hit a forehand straight into the net to give the Czechs an early lead.
This lead was further consolidated in Bopanna’s next service game. His poor form on the day couldn’t have been more evident than in this game. A poor backhand overhead attempt brought about a break point which was followed up with a smash straight into the net to see the Czechs racing at 4-1.
India managed to break Pavlasek again to give hundreds of Indians who braved the heat to descend on Saturday afternoon but that was short-lived. Paes produced a scintillating forehand cross court winner past Pavlasek who despite his long stretch couldn’t reach the ball to bring up a break point. This was duly converted after Pavlasek’s backhand volley went long.
This is as far as India’s joy on the day would go. The only positive for the team was that they earned two break points and converted both.
In the next game, Paes was broken before Stepanek stepped up and won the Czechs the second set to send their group of fans into a tizzy.
In the third set, Bopanna was broken first. At 2-2, Bopanna faced three break points and saved two but couldn’t save the third.
Down two sets and a break, there was hope for some that there would be a comeback just like that against Serbia last year in Bengaluru. But that would prove to be wishful thinking.
Up 4-2 in the third, the Czechs continued their impressive game and Pavlasek continued to be the aggressive of the two players.
With Paes serving, the Czech combination enjoyed two more break points but they didn’t need a second taking. As Paes hit a backhand volley into the net, the chances for an India comeback dwindled even further — much to the bemusement of the crowd.
In the next Stepanek service game, India saved one match point but a Bopanna backhand error gave Czechs the advantage going into Day 3 of this crucial Playoff tie.
The result puts plenty of pressure on India No.1 Yuki Bhambri to come out and win his singles rubber against Jiri Vesley and for Somdev Devvarman to win India the tie against lukas Rosol. However, it should be noted that the singles players can be changed for the reverse singles and it won’t be unthinkable for the Czech team to do just that for Vesley who looked exhausted after losing his match to Somdev on Friday in the second rubber.