India opted against playing the final reverse singles against Italy on Saturday. It had been a long two days against the forces of Italy and the hosts were thoroughly out-played with their first point and only point coming from doubles.
The hosts trailed 0-2 on day one in Kolkata as Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan lost their opening singles encounters. Italy coach Corrado Barazutti had hinted at changes to his doubles line-up and went through with his decision.
Come the morning of the doubles tie, Matteo Berettini, yesterday’s conqueror of Gunneswaran would take the court along with Simone Bolelli. Marco Cecchinato, Italy’s world number 19, would sit out the entire tie.
For India, the Asian Games doubles winning pair of Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna would feature in the morning’s first tie. Sharan, coming off a seven-year-break in the Davis Cup after his debut in 2012, was playing only his second tie in the tournament.
If the 22-year-old Berettini was serving thunderbolts on Friday, they only got faster on Saturday. The Italian even had Indian non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi gnawing at his tee-shirt in his chair courtside.
Sharan was offering second serves at modest paces between 130 and 150 kmph, but it was Bopanna who had his serve broken after the first eight games ended 4-4. Berettini, serving for the set, sent down three big ones to close the set out 6-4, leaving India on the verge of losing the tie.
“It was all about hanging in the match. We didn’t think about winning the first or second set. There were no nerves there. I don’t think about hitting it far or near. For me, it’s business like usual like going to office for you,” said Bopanna later at the post-match press conference.
“Of course, there’s pressure when you’re playing for the country. But we’ve enjoyed good form of late and for me, I was making a lot of returns out there,” added Sharan.
The Indians converted their first break point of the tie at 3-1 in the second set, as Bolelli and Berettini committed several unforced errors. Sharan’s serve in the ninth game came under threat but the Italians couldn’t convert their chances as India tied the match at one set apiece.
“We knew that Berenitti’s net game was weak. Our aim was not to sit back and rally against these guys,” Bopanna revealed after the match. The Indians, after losing the fourth game of the deciding set and going down 1-3, broke Bolelli back to back to claim the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 43 minutes.
If the win gave India a lifeline, Andreas Seppi snuffed out India’s hopes faster than you could utter ‘comeback’. Seppi ran through the first set in 20 minutes, destroying Gunneswaran 6-1.
“I just did not step up enough. I could not find the right intensity. He played well under pressure. I was not good enough today. It is a long way off and I will improve a long way from the level I am at. Even if I play tomorrow it might be different,” Gunneswaran said after the match.
The second set featured more of the same from Seppi as the Indian number one fought for every point, saving five break points in the third game but lost the game nonetheless. Seppi would eventually win the match 6-1, 6-4 and the tie for Italy.
Captain Mahesh Bhupathi was in a reflective mood after the tie. “[We] Didn’t have the best start. They are quality opposition so they were never under any pressure. Story is changing. Rome was not built in a day. We have three boys who can compete at this level. We knew how heavyweight a team they were.
“I think everyone needs to live in the real world. I want to check how many teams that play in the Madrid Davis Cup finals will go without a singles player in the top 100. This is one of the most competitive sports in the real world, 190 countries play the Davis Cup. We can’t get miracles in sport,” he continued.
As for continuing in the role, Bhupathi remained coy about his future and put the ball in the All India Tennis Association’s court with his contract running out. “It’s up to the AITA. I took the job knowing the depth we had. I was able to work with them at various stages. I’ll continue to give feedback,” the Indian captain said.
For India, it was a case of singles letting them down once more as they look to get back into the play-off match next year. With a changed format, their opponents for the zonal qualifiers will be revealed at the end of this week.
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