Sporting comebacks can be of two kinds. One spurred by a single game changing moment and one due to the sheer force of will. Somdev Devvarman’s, on Sunday, was the latter.
In one of his most memorable wins, he dragged the India-Serbia World Group play-off tie to the fifth rubber with a 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Dusan Lajovic.
Rain gods then ensured that the decider between Yuki Bhambri and Filip Krajinovic was pushed to Monday with the former trailing 3-6, 4-4.
At the outset, Lajovic was clearly the better player and dictated terms. He served with his usual vigour and his signature backhand clicked whenever summoned. The counter-puncher in Devvarman could do nothing but play catch-up.
Struggle with serveDevvarman’s serving was always a struggle. Until the seventh game in the second set, he faced break points in all his service games. He then compounded those problems with some doublefaults.
“I just kept telling myself that I need to give myself a chance,” said Devvarman. “When you are playing below average and still fighting through, you know that at some point you will get chances.”
That chance arrived towards the end of the second set. Lajovic’s level clearly dropped. His first serve wobbled. He did hit his second serves well enough, but Devvarman, who had until then chosen to stand way back, started attacking it with verve. It helped him cut down the angle and meet the ball before it drifted too wide. On the world number 61’s serve at 4-5, Devvarman converted on his first set point.
“I was serving well and playing well,” said Lajovic. “All of a sudden, I got tired. It is unusual. I never get tired. I am pretty fit. But today I got tired in the middle of the second set and (it continued) right till the end of the match.”
After the second set, the momentum was with Devvarman. And, when he raked up 4-1 lead in the third, Lajovic sensed he had a real match on his hands, the 90-odd ranking places separating them notwithstanding. That he responded showed why he was a top-100 player. He went on a roll, winning five games in a row to pocket the set 6-4.
Jittery affairThe fourth set was a jittery affair for both. Devvarman found his serve to be a problem again. Lajovic broke him twice. But the 29-year-old Indian broke back each time. He ran down balls, went around his backhands and made Lajovic work that extra bit.
With his opponent serving at 3-4, a superb return and a down-the-line backhand winner gave Devvarman a break. That was his best return game till then and he backed it up by holding serve, with an excellent stretch volley to conclude the set and square it at two apiece.
Unlike in his match against Filip Krajinovic, Devvarman, after initially struggling to volley, didn’t dump the idea. At first, when he started serving-and-volleying on second serves, it seemed a desperate tactic. But it came off.
He would continue it into the fifth set apart from moving an already exhausted Lajovic end-to-end. A particular time when it clearly showed that the Serb was a spent force was in the third game when Devvvarman retrieved two inside out forehands and in desperation Lajovic hit the third way wide of the tramline.
In the same game, a forehand shank from Lajovic gave Devvarman the first of the breaks. Another break in the seventh game to 5-2 pretty much sealed it. An inside-out winner followed by a winning forehand signalled the end to Lajovic’s challenge.
Free entryThe Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Assciation (KSLTA) has announced free entry for spectators on Monday.
