Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri of India showed their expertise by defeating Indonesia by 5-0 in the reverse singles in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group 1 relegation playoff at Bangalore on 7th April.
The 28-year-old Devvarman who ranked 208 ousted David Agung Susanto by 6-3, 6-1. On the other side, 20-year-old Bhambri defeated Wisnu Adi Nugroho comfortably by 6-0, 6-1 by allowing Shiv Prakash Misra to head as team captain in a jolly frame of mind. The reverse singles duo took an unbeatable 3-0 lead on Saturday after the doubles victory where Indonesian players could feebly defend themselves.
There was a tough encounter between Devvarman and Susanto in the first reverse singles in the beginning before crashing the serve in the sixth. The match was a long one but the Indian expertise was superior enough to overcome the attack of the Indonesian.
An early break in the third put Devvarman up 3-1 but Susanto struggled hard and even had two break points in the fifth during the second set. Anyway, the former gave two well-directed serves to catch up and went on hold for 3-1.
Devvarman took to the court for the reverse singles instead of Sanam Singh who was previously planned to play, broke again in the fifth and seventh to wrap up the tie immediately while awarding India a 4-0 lead.
Devvarman who had won the opening singles on Friday to giveIndiaa head start narrated that he began to get comfortable after the first few games and felt good that he obtained a point for India.
The 279 ranked Bhambri easily overcame 1774 ranked Nugroho who broke thrice in each of the two sets. Bhambri recorded his second victory in the tie following his success in the second singles.
Bhambri disclosed that he was more relaxed and just wanted to finish off the match. He then asked the crowd to give an ovation to Misra for his services to the country. The 71-year-old former Davis Cupper Misra acknowledged the crowd's ovation by praising Bhambri for his two singles victories and opined that the Delhi youngster would go places if he continues to improve and he is proud of this team.
Indonesiawill have to oust Taiwan in 2nd Round Play-off in September to keep away from being demoted to Group II.
