Somdev Devvarman restores parity for India with stunning win over Jiri Vesely

India will challenge Davis Cup powerhouse and world No. 1 Czech Republic for a place in the elite World Group, hoping that their players will capitalise on home conditions and absence of world number six Tomas Berdych in the play-off tie, beginning in Delhi on Thursday.

The Brno-born, who is also famous for defeating tennis great Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Wimbledon, had to fight the crowd, muggy weather and a spirited fight back from Bhambri to beat the Indian 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and 56 minutes and give the Czechs a 1-0 lead.

There were seven break chances in those three games – four for Somdev, but no player could convert.

The first and the second set were a complete disaster for Yuki, who has grown-up playing on the court. But right then, Rosol stepped it up to win the next five games and take home the set in only 24 minutes.

“I am very happy with the way I played. Overall, I am satisfied with my game today”. He broke the local boy thrice and held serve easily to win the set comfortably.

Going down in the first match, Somdev faced the uphill task of keeping India in competition.

“The 4-4 in the second was the most important game of the match”. However, he was gracious in conceding that Devvarman had played well, particularly with strong defence and moving him around the court.

“I was mentally fit but not physically. Today was not my day”, said Vesley. I am disappointed, but have to move on. Anyway, what has happened is history now. I have to do a lot of work in two days to get ready for Sunday. The Czech hit a staggering 50 winners in the game in comparison to Yuki’s 21.

On how he prepared to play against Yuki, who he had never faced before, Rosol said: “I saw a couple of his matches on youtube and just observed how his opponents were tackling him and I just copied that”. “It could be around 36-37 degree centigrade during the day, and that might make even Novak Djokovic falter”, he said. He dropped serve in fourth to let Somdev lead 3-1 and it was a matter of time before the Indian closed the contest.

For sure, Rosol was a class act, with his thundering returns and quick feet. “We know that Czechs are big guys with big serves and are big hitters”.