Doubles rubber could be decisive

The middle ‘doubles’ Saturday is a great Davis Cup tradition. It decides the route a tie is going to take, helps the captains plot and rework strategies, as well as showcase doubles as a format, which otherwise is more like an orphan.

And for countries like India, which has over the years lined up star doubles teams like the Amritraj brothers and the Leander Paes–Mahesh Bhupathi duo, it’s a source of immense strength.

It’s no surprise then that the lead-up to the World Group play-off tie against Serbia this weekend has been all about doubles. While the roles of Somdev Devvarman and a fit-again Yuki Bhambri as singles players were set in stone, it was doubles which made news.

Saketh Myneni and Rohan Bopanna did the job against Chinese Taipei and South Korea, but against a much more formidable pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac, which has a memorable win over Bryan brothers, including 15-13 in the fifth set in 2013, Paes had to be called in to shore up the team.

“If you are 1-1 after the first day, then the doubles becomes crucial,” said captain Anand Amritraj. “Rohan and Leander are possibly the best two guys in the country. It couldn’t be better for us.”

Team chemistry

But, two great players (doubles and singles) may or may not make a great team. Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, in spite of having an Olympic doubles gold together, have lost all four of their Davis Cup doubles match-ups so far.

At the same time one great doubles player can transform his partner and make the combination work, like Radek Stepanek in whose company Tomas Berdych has won 16 of 17.

It’s for these very reasons, Bopanna and Paes make for an interesting pair. They haven’t played together for some time now. The last time they turned out was against Uzbekistan in 2012 when they lost. Yet not many would label them a ‘scratch-team’ as they know each other’s game pretty well, as it was evident when Paes, the senior pro, after just one practice session, said, ‘Rohan is going to be the leader’.

“He is one of the most talented doubles players in the world to have not won a Grand Slam,” said Paes. “I wanted to play with him at the Olympics. I wanted to play with him on the tour [ATP]. But now that we finally are, I am excited.”

Known quality

Another aspect which makes doubles crucial is that it’s one of the five rubbers which has less of an unknown quality about it. Zimonjic has played long enough with Paes to think through his game and vice-versa.  Yet Paes, on the day he arrived, chose to play the match down.

“Davis Cup is not just about one doubles match, its about four singles matches.” But what Bhambri said summed it up the best.

“Doubles has always been India's strength,” he said. “It would be great if we win the singles on the first day, but doubles is the one match where we go in knowing that we are the favourites. It has Leander and Rohan, and we can expect them to win.”

Back in 2013, when India played Indonesia in the Asia/Oceania relegation play-off, Bopanna watched from the stands.

And in spite of being a local lad, he hasn’t played competitively at these courts for a decade.

On Saturday he will have a chance to make his biggest impact yet on the most important of stages for India.

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/tennis/doubles-rubber-could-be-decisive/article6398263.ece