Somdev Devvarman sputtered into action at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium on Tuesday, overcoming an indifferent start to set right an old rivalry against Devin Mullings of the Bahamas.
The Indian top-seed was down 1-4 in the first set before he got a move on, winning five straight games to go one up, and then cracking Mulling's serve twice in the second to take the match 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 25 minutes.
Devvarman smashed ten aces on his way to restoring parity in this specific head-to-head, having lost to the Bahamian seven years ago.
“I had a bad service game to start with. After that I did not lose serve in the whole match. Mullings played really well, what with all that left-hander's junk on his serve,” he said.
Devvarman also found the court surface bouncy and that it “took a lot of spin and some getting used to.”
Mullings, who had begun with some searing forehands of his own, withered in the heat, sought medical attention after surrendering the first set, and said later he hadn't quite got used to the weather.
“I had some problems with my visa and got here at the last minute, so I haven't acclimatised to he conditions,” he said.
Paes-Bhupathi move up
In the men's doubles, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi moved one round closer to what is being considered a foregone conclusion. They registered a 6-3, 6-3 win over Sri Lanka's Thangarajah Dineshkanthan and Amresh Jayawickreme to move into the quarterfinals, and were troubled more for motivation and warding off pesky bugs on court than by whatever the Islanders threw their way.
That the Lankans kept India's star pair on court for over an hour would surely count as a positive for the young duo. “The boys were talented, but in matches such as these it is tough to go through the motions. We never really got out of first gear,” said Bhupathi.
Triple treat
Nirupama Sanjeev and Poojashree Venkatesha made it a triple treat for India with a 6-0, 6-1 win over the Maldives' Irufa Mahir and Maleela Solih. The match lasted 42 minutes, four minutes longer than it took fifth-seeded Heather Watson to sweep aside Tara Lambert of the Bermudas and almost as long as it takes for one to convince some CWG volunteers at the venue that their primary job isn't playing the officious bureaucrat, busy without business.
In men's doubles, Australia's Paul Hanley and Peter Luczak put paid to the hopes of Pakistan's Aqeel Khan and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win in a first round match. One break of serve separated the victor from the vanquished in the two-hour five-minutes contest.
Another marathon materialised when Scotsman Colin Fleming rallied for well over two hours to snuff out the challenge of Welshman Chris Lewis, winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.)
