It takes special players to perform on the special stage.
Though they have been threatening to make a mark in the team event for some time, Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj truly became Davis Cup heroes on Friday when they came through gruelling five-set encounters to give India a commanding 2-0 lead against Japan in New Delhi.
Every challenge was met in the eye, and the Indian boys stared down till the Japanese blinked.
Bopanna opened India's campaign on a high as he overcame his mental block in the fifth set to beat Japan's No 1 Kei Nishikori while Amritraj fought back from two sets down to get the better of Go Soeda in aanother marathon contest.
"Kudos to both the players for their perseverance. The chips were down, but they fought back fantastically," said captain Leander Paes after the matches.
Coming in with a shaky left knee, Bopanna proved the doubters wrong when he not only survived a barrage of groundstrokes but also lasted the full five sets to overcome an in-form Nishikori 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
And at the end of the two-hour fifty-minute contest, it was the 18-year-old debutant from Japan who ran out of steam.
The Indian fired 22 aces in the match, and it was left to his superior serve and experience to pull the rubber through. He saved two break-points in the first set, in the fifth and ninth games, before closing out the set in the tie-break at 7-2.
Ranked 118, and with an ATP title win up his sleeve recently, Nishikori went in to the match as a slight favourite, but his discomfort on the grass surface and the hot Delhi weather caught up with him.
Nishikori made some stinging backhand returns and countered Bopanna's aggressive game by manoeuvering the game from the back of the court. He came back from a set down twice in the match, but when it came to the crunch points, Nishikori cracked under the weight of it all.
Bopanna reversed the momentum in the decider after two breaks of serve saw him concede the fourth set.
He started with three aces in the first game to set the tone. Serving first in the fifth set, Nishikori was always placed on the backfoot as Bopanna came up with strong performances in his following service games as well. The Indian got the break in the eighth game and went on to seal the encounter at 6-3.
The Indian had lost four five-set matches prior to this but came up with a strong finish in this one to score a mental point.
"I tried not to think too much about losing the fourth set and focussed on what's happening ahead," said Bopanna. "It's a good thing that I didn't think about the Uzbekistan tie (where he lost to Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 6-8)."
~~~ Amritraj escapes to victory ~~~
The thrill quotient was raised considerably in the second singles of the day. Showing great athleticism and heart, Amritraj wiped off a two-set deficit and saved two match-points to beat Soeda 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 8-6.
"I just had to hang in there; I knew I would get a chance," said Amritraj on his incredible comeback.
"I kept saying positive things to myself and when you are two sets down it's a good opportunity to show what you are made of, else you'll be losing in three sets anyway."
"My dad (Vijay Amritraj) always told me that fitness is never a concern in Davis Cup matches; your adrenaline will always get you through."
As the game climbed into the punishing afternoon, Amritraj grew in confidence. The serves started landing in the right places and the volleys came with greater vehemence. He finally broke through defences of the calm and collected Soeda, forcing him to make errors from the back of the court even as he continued with his aggressive game-plan.
Amritraj dropped serve in the opening games of the first two sets. Though he wasn't able to win the second set tie-break, the fightback had begun when he immediately broke back Soeda's serve in the second game of the second set.
The US-based player seems to take a lot of pride when playing for India at home. Buoyed by a vocal crowd at the R K Khanna stadium, the 24-year-old fought tooth and nail for more than four hours to script a memorable victory.
Though the last two sets produced some scrappy tennis, neither player was ready to concede or close out the match. In a nervy third set, the players held serve, both playing to their strengths, Amritraj attacked the net at every given chance while Soeda looked for the opening to pass him.
Amritraj looked in a spot of bother as he was two match-points down at 5-6 in the fifth set. But the Indian battled on bravely, not letting doubts creep into his strategy and was able to keep Soeda at bay. He then stretched the momentum to break Soeda and take a 7-6 lead.
Despite being two break-points again in the last game, Amirtraj pulled off the match after Soeda hit a forehand long.
With Amritraj down on his knees, the entire team erupted in celebration.
The job for the day was done, and with Paes-Bhupathi waiting in the wings in Saturday's doubles encounter, India could well be 3-0 up by the end of the second day.
"We have done an excellent job in this tie so far, but let's not get complacent. These guys have given us a great opportunity and Mahesh and me have to build on it tomorrow."
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