Somdev Devvarman defeated the defending champion Danai Udomchoke 7-5, 7-5 as India got past Thailand to reach the men's semifinals of the team event in tennis in the Asian Games here on Sunday.
In the semifinals, India will meet the top-seeded Chinese Taipei that beat Philippines, while the other semifinal will feature Japan and Uzbekistan.
Solid game
Backed by a strong first rubber by Sanam Singh, who was quicksilver on court and magical with his explosive shots on either flank, in providing a strong start, Devvarman played a solid game to beat the wily Udomchoke.
After having won the first set 7-5 with a break in the 12th game, Devvarman was cruising along when he broke the Thai at love in the second game of the second set with a rousing passing shot on breakpoint. However, there was a slip in concentration and Devvarman dropped serve in the next game by putting a backhand wide on the fifth breakpoint.
Once Udomchoke saved three breakpoints at 0-40 in the next game to hold serve, the match came alive with robust rallies and crafty manoeuvres. With the entire Thai team, men and women converging to cheer Udomchoke at court No.4, outnumbering the Indians who were cheering in a mix of Hindi and English, it looked quite tricky, but Devvarman pulled it off by breaking the Thai in the 12th game once again.
After Devvarman set up a matchpoint by spanking a forehand inside out winner, Udomchoke obliged with a double-fault for an anticlimactic finish.
The Thais won the dead doubles rubber, as the Ratiwatana twins, Sanchai and Sonchat, beat Karan Rastogi and Vishnu Vardhan 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, in a face saving exercise.
“Danai is deceivingly good. When you think that he is tired, he comes up with great tennis. I am glad that I refocused to play a good game after giving the break back early in the second set. Taipei will be tough, but we will play our best,” said Devvvarman.
Coach Nandan Bal was understandably happy, and said that Sanam Singh exceeded his expectations in coming up with a high quality fare, especially for the first eight games when he was unstoppable.
Sound temperament
The coach was equally appreciative of the sound temperament and solid game that Devvarman demonstrated in tackling the variety that was thrown at him by Udomchoke, and playing the ball on the rise at crucial junctures to swing the momentum in his favour.
He was particularly impressed with the unity the four boys show on and off the court, and how they cheer each other heartily for a strong team effort.
Meanwhile, the nominations for individual events were made with Sania Mirza partnering Vishnu Vardhan for mixed doubles.
The other mixed doubles combination will be Sanam Singh and Rushmi Chakravarthi.
For the individual singles, Somdev Devvarman and Karan Rastogi have been nominated, and it will be Sania Mirza and Poojashree Venkatesh for women.
Since, a player was being allowed to compete only in two of the three individual events, Sania will not play women's doubles.
That will give a chance for Tara Iyer to partner Nirupama Sanjeev, and the other pairing will be Poojashree and Rushmi.
Devvarman and Sanam will partner each other for doubles, and the other pair will be Rastogi and Vardhan.
The results: Men (quarterfinals): India beat Thailand 2-1 (Sanam Singh bt Kittiphong Wachiranamowong 6-1, 6-4; Somdev Devvarman bt Danai Udomchoke 7-5, 7-5; Karan Rastogi and Vishnu Vardhan lost to Sanchai Ratiwatana and Sonchat Ratiwatana 6-3, 3-6, 2-6).
