Happy reunion for Indian pair

The Indian duo will now have to wait till tomorrow morning to finish off the match and more importantly, the interruption will test Paes’ fitness to the limit as he has to beat Kiwi No.1 Mark Neilsen in the first reverse singles to see India through.

In the beginning, the Kiwi duo matched Paes and Bhupathi, winner of three Grand Slam titles, at the net. They battled their famous opponents stroke for stroke but when the push came to shove, the former World No. 1 duo put their foot down. Paes and Bhupathi were more bothered by the cold and South-easterly wind than the inexperienced Willman and Shortall.

While Paes was impressive with his patented volleys, Bhupathi was as sharp as ever with his reflexes.

Willman , and Shortall displayed good temperament but found the Indians too hot to handle, especially on crunch points.

Willman/Shortall began on a confident note with the former trying to copy Paes’ tricks at the net and Shortall coming up with big serves. The scores remained level at 4-4 in the first set before the Indians threatened with three break points on Willman’s serve in the tenth game.

Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, the Kiwis were suddenly staring three set points and conceded the crucial break on the second when Shortall put a forehand into the net.

The second set too followed on the same lines with the hosts beginning positively only to falter later.

The Kiwis were more aggressive and were up to every challenge that Paes and Bhupathi posed. But the Indians had already identified their man and in the eighth game they again put pressure on Willman’s serve. The ploy worked as a series of errors cost the home team dear.

After Willman failed to keep a simple volley in, the two Kiwis were caught in a mix-up going for a lob, giving the Indians a double break point opportunity.

The Indians wasted no time and converted the very first chance when Paes pounced on a weak return from Shortall, and then served out the set in the next without any difficulty.