If Friday was the day of the ones that got away, Sunday was a day of turnarounds for India. While Friday was clammy, Sunday was everything Team India could have hoped for. The sun was out and the humidity sapping — precisely what the venue was chosen for.
While the weekday crowd was sparse and their shrieks witless, the last day of the tie saw people turn out in noisy numbers. The mood in the press enclosure too, was different.
After his loss to Ricardo Mello in the second rubber on Friday, Somdev Devvarman had walked into the media room, still as the Chennai air. Scribes, in a moment of uncharacteristic empathy, let Devvarman, head down, mull over his loss, as fans whined painfully overhead. Their humanitarian duty dispensed with, Devvarman and Rohan Bopanna were promptly slated the following day in print.
On Sunday, the players were accorded an ovation as they trooped in after completing the spectacular comeback.
“A lot of people had said that there were demons in my head,” Bopanna said, referring to a few reports that had questioned his ability to close out a match — he had let slip the first rubber after being 5-2 up in the decider. “The only demon was what (Ricardo Mello) was facing on court.”
It was Devvarman's win earlier in the day that had got the crowd going. Leander Paes highlighted Devvarman's ability to grind.
“The guy (Thomaz Bellucci) was hitting aces and winners at will and still Som stayed with him,” said Paes.
Devvarman said: “I wanted to stick it out, get my serves in and find a way out of trouble. I wanted to move him (Bellucci) around, instead of going for the outright winner.”
One other thing had changed. The doubles win on Saturday gave India not just a toe-hold in the tie, but also belief.
“This is as good a team effort as I have ever been a part of. It takes something inside all of us to believe that we can win (after being 2-0 down). Lee and 'Hesh (Bhupathi) gave us our mojo back,” said Devvarman.
Bopanna, who floated about the court on the shoulders of Paes after his tie-clinching win, said: “I am proud to share the locker room with Paes, who is my biggest inspiration. He seems to set the bar higher and higher each time he plays for the country.”
