It's Mahesh's turn to deliver

By Kamesh Srinivasan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. When he puts his mind on the job, Mahesh Bhupathi can be a handful even as a singles player. The situation demanded that he make a wholehearted attempt, and Mahesh responded to the challenge in taking India past China in the $ 90,000 Bharat Sanchar Asia Cup tennis tournament at the R.K. Khanna Stadium here on Friday.

India just about managed to beat China to keep itself in the fray for the final, but the fact that the host lost one match revealed the toughness of the depleted Chinese side, which was without the services of its main player Zhu Ben-Qiang.

It was a chance for both Mahesh and Harsh Mankad to get ready for the challenge ahead with a win, but the latter was unable to get out of a rut and folded meekly in the second singles.

Beating an opponent unranked on the ATP computer may not be an achievement for the 892nd ranked Mahesh, who has much superior credentials for his singles capability, but the fact remained that it was his first win in five matches this season.

The left-handed Wang Yu could have been a tricky opponent with his big serves and fluent strokeplay, but Mahesh pushed his game that much higher, and pulled out his big serves with such determination at crucial points that there was no doubt about him tasting victory this day.

It was sheer inexperience, especially against a player who was moving in all the time, that made the Chinese fritter away many points with sprayed shots. Moreover, the fact that Wang Yu let himself to be broken early in the match, in the third game, lost him the initiative.

Mahesh served well in his first three games to race to a 4-2 lead, and missed two breakpoints in the seventh as the Chinese started understanding him better.

There was a big tussle in the eighth game when Mahesh faced four breakpoints, but he showed his class by wriggling out of trouble and used the momentum to break Wang Yu in the next game with a sharp backhand volley to wrest the initiative.

In the second set, Mahesh got broken in the first game after saving two breakpoints as Wang Yu followed a measured lob with a backhand passing shot. Thereafter, Mahesh managed to hold on to his serve despite delivering two successive doublefaults both in the third and fifth games.

In the sixth game, Mahesh broke back by converting the second breakpoint with a thumping winner, and let out a war-cry. He served remarkably well to take a 5-4 lead and unleashed a forehand crosscourt winner to set up a matchpoint in the next game. Wang Yu had held his game together for an hour and 18 minutes, and he put a forehand long to make a graceful exit.

``I am getting better with every set, but it is up to the captain whether I play on Sunday'', said Mahesh.

If he sharpens his game a little more, and moves lighter on his feet, there is no reason why Mahesh cannot make the final a memorable one for the host, provided it makes the grade in the first place.

For, it is very likely that Fazaluddin will follow Mahesh in the second singles on `D-Day', as Harsh, coming here from an indoor season on fast courts in Collegiate circuit in the U.S., has been finding it tough to adjust to the slow courts.

Harsh started well in his match against the athletic Zhang Yu, but he was far too defensive to make a match of it. Playing without a weapon to boast of, Harsh needed to hussle his opponent the way Mahesh had done earlier, but he ended up helping the 819th ranked Chinese strike rhythm. The soft-stroking Indian lost the initiative when he got broken in the fifth game as he complicated matters with two successive doublefaults from gamepoint.

Even then, Harsh could have got back into the match by using one of the three breakpoints he had in the eighth game, but the Chinese was stroking with a lot of confidence by now, knowing the limitations of the Indian to leave any room for recovery.

Harsh did not win another game for the next five games, and was thus reduced to 0-4 in the second set. He saved four breakpoints in the fourth game of the second set, but a bad over-rule by chair umpire Ales Yeo saw him succumb to the fifth. He managed to break back in the next game and also held serve for 2-4, but Zhang Yu won the next two to finish the contest in an hour and 16 minutes.

Mahesh and Fazaluddin have been combining so well, that there was no doubt about the Indians winning the tie. The left-handed Wang was broken in the first and ninth games of the first set, and in the second game of the second, as the Indian lads cruised through 6-3, 6-3 in 53 minutes, smashing a few rousing winners on the way.

``China has good singles players, and Davis Cup ties have four singles. So, no need for us to be complacent. We have our work cut out'', said captain Ramesh Krishnan, as he viewed the challenge against China in the Davis Cup tie in February.

The Thais who take on Korea have a good chance to make the final ahead of the host, if they score a 2-1 win on the morrow. Danai Udomchoke and company are no push-overs, and the Indian camp better keep an eye on the tie, and preferably cheer the Koreans to victory.

Meanwhile, in the women's league match between China and Thailand, a preview to the final, the Chinese scored a 3-0 triumph, though they had to struggle a bit in winning the two singles. The Thais may pull off one win on the morrow, perhaps through Suchanan Viratprasert, but they may not be able to stop the Chinese from taking the champion's purse of $ 20,000.

The results:

Men: India bt China 2-1 (Mahesh Bhupathi bt Wang Yu 6-3, 6-4; Harsh Mankad lost to Zhang Yu 3-6, 2-6; Mahesh Bhupathi and Syed Fazaluddin bt Wang Yu and Zhang Yu 6-3, 6-3).

Women: China bt Thailand 3-0 (Li Ting bt Napaporn Tongsalee 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; Li Na bt Suchanan Viratprasert 3-6, 6-2, 6-2; Li Na and Sun Tian-Tian bt Orawan Lamangthong and Napaporn Tongsalee 6- 1, 6-1).

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