These Indians on top Down Under

Sania Mirza made history at the Australian Open in 2005 by becoming the first Indian woman the third round of a Grand Slam event. This year,...

Sania Mirza made history at the Australian Open in 2005 by becoming the first Indian woman the third round of a Grand Slam event. This year, Chandigarh8217;s Sanam Singh and Chennai8217;s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan have struck another blow for Indian tennis by being made top seeds in the boys doubles event.

They are not the first Indians to be top seeds in a Grand Slam; that honour went to Ramesh Krishnan, who was No 1 when he won the boy8217;s singles title at Wimbledon in 1979. But this pair 8212; who play in the second round on Wednesday 8212; have revived excitement in men8217;s tennis at a time when all attention is focused on Sania and her sisters, or in lamenting the Lee-Hesh breakup.

Actually, those who8217;ve followed grassroots tennis have been aware of this power pair for some time now. 8216;8216;Our association began at a tournament in New Delhi three years ago8217;8217;, Jeevan told The Indian Express today. 8216;8216;And since we were in the same age group and clicked, we decided to try our hand as a double pair.8217;8217;

It certainly helped them become top seeds in Melbourne. The seeding system is down to cold arithmetic: The International Tennis Federation combines the individual rankings of each pair and then rates them against other pairs. But there8217;s a catch: weightage is given to pairs that play together regularly, and Sanam and Jeevan played more than a dozen tournaments together last year.

Beyond the arithmetic, however, there8217;s that something extra which makes this an exciting pair. Sandeep Kirtane, former junior Indian Davis Cup coach, has seen this pair up close since they started out and he explains the chemistry.

8216;8216;They are good friends, they8217;ve played together for a long time and complement each other. You must see it to believe it.8217;8217;

Once on court, they have another advantage: Jeevan 8212; incidentally, grandson of former MGR right-hand man V Nedunchezhiyan 8212; is a southpaw, Sanam a natural right-hander. That makes their forehands, the most potent weapon in doubles, doubly effective.

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8216;8216;It puts pressure on the opponent. Right-left combinations are always tricky8217;8217;, says Kirtane, a doubles specialist himself. What about temperament? 8216;8216;I8217;m the calm and relaxed type8217;8217;, says Sanam, who play at the net. 8216;8216;Jeevan who stays back is all pumped up. Which works fine for us.8217;8217;

Sanam is trying hard to keep focus, because he8217;s also the sole Indian left in the singles category. His 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 win over home favourite Todd Ley today took him into the pre-quarterfinals, where he8217;ll face world junior No 47 Austen Childs. First priority, though, is Wednesday, when they face the Polish duo of Blazej Koniusz and Grzegorz Panfil. 8216;8216;It8217;ll be tough8217;8217;, says Sanam, 8216;8216;they are hard hitters.8217;8217;

Then 8212; and you can almost hear the grin over the long-distance line 8212; he adds, 8216;8216;But we have the spirit.8217;8217;