Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reworked their old magic to give India a 2-1 lead against Japan in the Asia-Oceania group I first round tie of the Davis Cup tennis competition at the R K Khanna stadium in Delhi on Saturday.
Paes and Bhupathi made mince-meat of Thomas Shimada and Jun Kato to win the doubles rubber 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in less than an hour-and-half to put India ahead in the match.
India and Japan shared the first set of singles matches.
On Friday, Rohan Bopanna lost to Gouchi Motomura but Paes levelled the score, defeating Takao Suzuki in the second singles.
The reverse singles will be played on Sunday.
Bhupathi and Paes were playing together for India only for the second time after splitting as partners last year. The two did not pair up for the play-off tie against Australia in September but won the Asian Games doubles gold medal, at Busan two weeks later.
"It was nice and clinical," said captain Ramesh Krishnan about the three-time Grand Slam-winning pair's victory, as Paes re-emphasized that the old bond between the two had never really been severed.
"I have said before that we have never really lost our touch. It is all about the camaraderie and, to me, it was one of the nicest performances; short and sweet," said Paes, who also said famously at Busan that "one doesn't forget how to ride a bicycle".
Of camaraderie there was little to mention on the court. There was no fist pumping or the chest-against-chest show of aggression, only pure professional coordination. Then again, the lack of emotions might have in turn infused a killer instinct that gave no room for the Japanese in the match today.
"We just wanted to stay focused, and did not want to let things go out of hand in a Davis Cup tie," said Bhupathi of the way the Indians ruthlessly quelled the visitors' challenge.
The Indians had won the doubles rubber when the teams last met Japan in Tokyo too, the same pair beating Shimada and Takao Suzuki in a five-set thriller.
But with Suzuki yet to recover from a sore shoulder, and given the Indians' superiority on grass, Japanese captain Jun Kamiwazumi decided to give the doubles encounter a formal treatment and bank on Suzuki beating Rohan Bopanna in the first reverse singles tomorrow to push the tie into the fifth rubber.
Suzuki's replacement, Kato, playing in his first Davis Cup match, turned out to be a sitting duck against the Indian pair which was on fire. Four of his six serves in the match were broken, leaving Shimada to wage a lone battle. There was a brief period in the second set when Kato seemed to improve in confidence as he made a solid return off Bhupathi's serve and then proceeded to hold his own serve.
But soon his inexperience showed. Trying to tease the Indians with his net play, he was made a laughing stock when Paes outsmarted him with a simple lob. And again in the same game when Shimada's lob had Bhupathi in a spot of bother, Kato smashed the Indians' highball straight to Paes who was ready at the net to fetch the points.
The noon start meant the grass was more exposed to the sun than it was yesterday and that only was in favour of the hosts.
"As far as I am concerned, the grass played truly," said Paes with a twinkle in his eye, acknowledging the uneven bounce of the surface.
As it were, Bhupathi and Paes mercilessly sunk the knife on the innocent opponents. Their act was a contrast to the festive atmosphere in the stands with a large Saturday crowd having turned out to watch the star duo in action.
The Japanese faced a double break-point early in the first set on Shimada's serve but managed to hold it. That was the first sign of trouble for the visitors who were soon 3-1 down with Kato losing his serve and the 20-year old was broken again while serving to stay in the set.
Kato gathered himself in the beginning of the second set but his game was way below the mark, and he looked like a deer hunted by cheetahs.
Shimada did his best to hide his partner but his efforts were not enough to deny the Indians. After holding his serve for the first time in the fourth
game, Kato strayed out of Shimada's protective armour and became an easy victim for Bhupathi and Paes.
Kato's fragility also gave the home pair the advantage of serving first in every set and they wrapped up the match without much ado.
"There is nothing to be ashamed about. We lost to one of the best teams in the world, and it would not have been easy for Kato to play well in his first match too," said Shimada.
"The key is we are still in the match. We are looking forward to the singles matches tomorrow where our strength lies," he said.
Photograph: Saab Press
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