Illness clips Uppal8217;s wings

It is of course a matter of debate if the Delhi-based Uppal could have gotten past the Thai even if he was well 8212; even those closest to him would say it would have been very difficult 8212; but at least, he could have exerted more effort than he did in the end. Uppal said later that Dr Vece Paes had seen him in the morning and advised him not to play, but he decided to go ahead.

8220;I8217;ve had only five bananas since yesterday,8221; he added. Uppal is leaving for Delhi and he and Mustafa Ghouse have pulled out of the doubles.

Srichaphan said later thatUppal had told him before the match that he was not well and would probably be on court only 10-15 minutes. 8220;As he told me he was not well and would not play too long, I tended to take it easy. I really slipped up in that one game I got broken.8221;

There was some friction between the players on this account, with Srichaphan saying something and Uppal reacting. Uppal said the Thai told him something like 8220;play properly8221;, Srichaphan says it was something like 8220;I guess now you can play.8221; To which Uppal said, 8220;I8217;ll play my game, you play yours.8221;

Uppal was concentrating on doing only one thing in the first and part of the second set, getting his first serve in and volleying the return. And he was doing it well. While this was putting the Thai off-balance, the top seed was playing rather casually, which he should not have done, whatever Uppal said to him before the match.

The ethical side apart, Uppal really put in as much as he could. The turning point of the match came in the 13th game of the secondset, with Vishal serving to save the set. 15-30 down, he served and the Thai did not attempt to pick it as it seemed a clear fault. The linesman failed to call it and the umpire did not overrule the decision.

A clearly upset Srichaphan then picked up an almost unpickable drop shot, which Uppal lobbede back and then managed to make another incredible pickup from between his legs with his back to the court. The ball landed just inside the sideline of the forehand court and he had set point. He passed Uppal on the next point to claim the set and finished the clearly tired Indian in the last.

Results

Singles second round: 1-Paradorn Srichaphan THA bt WC-Vishal Uppal IND 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; 8-Barry Cowan GBR bt Yuri Schukin RUS 6-3, 6-3; 3-Tuomas Ketola FIN bt Q-Tomas Anzari CZE 6-4, 7-5; 6-Takahiro Terachi JPN bt Ivan Vajda CRO 3-6, 7-5, 7-5; 5-Leander Paes IND bt Justin Layne GBR 6-2, 6-4; 7-Satoshi Iwabuchi JPN bt Ivo Karlovic CRO 6-4, 6-4; 4-Jamie Delgado GBR recd walkoverfrom Luke Milligan GBR

Doubles quarters: Martin Hromec/ Vladimir Platenik SVK bt Rohan Bopanna/ Rishi Sridhar IND 7-6 4, 6-7 4, 7-6 4; Yuri Schukin RUS/ Ivo Karlovic CRO recd walkover from Heiko Bollich GER Ivan Vajda CRO; Srinath/ Fazaluddin IND recd walkover from Mustafa Ghouse/ Vishal Uppal IND.

I can8217;t sacrifice my career: Paes
JAIPUR: Leander Paes has almost narrowed down his choice of doubles partner on the ATP Tour to one.

8220;I8217;ve been spending a lot of time on the phone. I spoke to Jonas Bjorkman, who would have loved to play with me, but he8217;s tied up. Sebastien Lareau was really upset I didn8217;t tell him earlier. He8217;s tied up too. I8217;m going to do something that I did when I first picked Mahesh Bhupathi nurture another player.8221;

He added that the person in question was not in the top five. Paes also said that being out did not mean a player could not exercise other parts of his body that were not injured.

8220;It tests his commitment to thegame,8221; he said. On being asked what he would do if Bhupathi came back early, Paes said he 8220;knew about injuries8221; and 8220;it would take him at least three months to get back. I8217;m not sure if Mahesh and all of you understand how long it takes. He will have to play the circuit and see how he feels. I cannot sacrifice my professional career for his injury.8221;

Bhupathi presently has his shoulder in a sling after surgery and is unsure when he can get back. He is awaiting the doctor8217;s prognosis, due on Wednesday.