Double magic? Let146;s hope

For a brief period, it looked as though it was a band without any rhythm when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi started the doubles rubber ag...

For a brief period, it looked as though it was a band without any rhythm when Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi started the doubles rubber against Jonas Bjorkman and Simon Aspelin of Sweden during the Davis Cup World Group play-off.

But just as things were getting better and one thought the synchronisation that the two players once had was beginning to come back in the second set bad light stopped play.

Paes was unhappy with the decision to suspend play. He later said that it was decided that the set would be completed and only then would play be called off for the day. 8216;8216;But since the lights did not come on we had to go off,8217;8217; he clarified.

As Nandan Bal, the coach of the Indian team described, 8216;8216;It8217;s been a long time since both of them played together. Initially, they were not gelling well but then as they got into the match things improved.8217;8217;

The last time the duo played together in a Davis Cup tie was against Uzbekistan in Jaipur in May this year.

The Indians are down one set but up a break when light intervened and it would now require nothing short of a miracle for the Indians to save the tie.

The Swedish pair had the better of the home combination when they broke Leander8217;s serve in the eighth game of the first set to take the set in 36 minutes. Earlier, on Bhupathi8217;s serve in the fourth game the Indians saved three break points when Paes made few errors of judgement.

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In the second set, too, things started on a sedate note but in the fourth game the Indians broke Bjorkman8217;s serve.

In the post-match press conference, Paes admitted that he was trying a bit too much and was excited. Commenting on the match, the Swedish non-playing captain Mats Wilander said the match was still open and it could be anybody8217;s game.

Earlier in the day, after a five-hour delay, Thomas Johansson shrugged off a spirited fight from Rohan Bopanna to win the rubber 7-6 3, 7-6 2 and 7-6 4 to put Sweden 2-0 ahead.

But the former Australian Open champion had to save two set points in the third set before clinching the third tie-break over a player who is ranked 297 places below him.

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Bopanna8217;s game was also hampered by an injury which he sustained during the eighth game of the set. 8220;I did not get my footing right when I tried to return a serve and twisted my ankle. It is not too bad and I will know by tomorrow morning if I would be able to play the reverse singles,8221; he said.

The Indian8217;s game was praised by Johansson who said, 8220;It was a tough match but the difference was that he Bopanna was not able to finish crucial points. Especially his serve had a lot of variations but then experience was the difference,8221; Johansson said.

The Swede was critical of the surface and said that it was one of the worst courts he had ever played on and that the conditions deteriorated today.

Although, there were speculations that Leander will play the reverse singles in place of an injured Bopanna, he refused to comment and said that he will take a call at the beginning of the rubber.

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Play will start on Monday at 10 am with the continuation of the doubles tie. There will be no entry tickets for the general public on Monday, The organisers declared.

Viren returns a 8216;compliment8217;

New Delhi: It is rare nowadays to see or hear somebody return a compliment in the competitive field of sports. But when it comes to Viren Rasquinha, it8217;s different.

The member of the Indian hockey team was there at the DLTA courts today to cheer the Indian doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. 8216;8216;I like to watch tennis as it is one of my favourite sport and also to lift the Indian team8217;s morale just the way Paes did it for us during the 2004 Athens Olympics,8217;8217; Rasquinha said.

The hockey star also revealed that he wanted to catch up with his friend Bopanna. 8216;8216;Besides being good friends, Rohan and I are colleagues at the Indian Oil Corporation,8221; he added. And how does he rate the Indians8217; game today? 8216;8216;Rohan played very well. It was a tough match but he fought hard despite being injured. His performance is a good sign for Indian tennis,8217;8217; Rasquinha said. 8212; PJ