Davis Cup: First day, two shows

‘Rise Above . The Rest’ his deep blue tee reads in practice 24 hours before he plays perhaps the biggest match of his nascent Davis Cup career. He’s led the Indian challenge against Uzbekistan earlier where he trumped Denis Istomin on clay, but playing last season’s finalists in the play-offs will require the kind of effort that is reserved for career-defining occasions for a young player.

The young lad will be expected to rise above his prevailing injury problems (recovering from a heel trouble) and shirk off his scratchy form over barely a dozen matches since his comeback from injury. He will need to literally rise above a ranking deficit of 92 (he’s 153, Lajovic is 61), and beat the odds that make him the overwhelming underdog.

“I’m as match-ready as I can be, and looking forward to playing the first one. I’m back to being sharp and have got enough matches under the belt, and I feel as fit as I had been six months ago. I think I’m playing well, but at the end of the day, he’s 60 in the world,” Yuki says.

The fact that it is the still-improving 24-year-old Lajovic and not Djokovic means a potential mismatch against a multiple Grand Slam champ has suddenly turned into a closer contest where his errors will not be summarily washed away by the tsunami reputation of a World No 1. “Against Djokovic nobody would’ve given me a chance, but this is tough too,” he says.

It’ll be naïve to believe the Serbs will melt away in the Indian heat, and apart from the 3 pm start (it’s been pleasant weather in Bangalore, the heat not intolerable) the fact that Lajovic has camped at some bake-oven pitstops over the last month – US Open and in Manacor where he sweated out sparring with Nadal, means he’s well-prepared and not quaking in fear of a long match.

The stretched out attritional battle isn’t Yuki’s style either, so he’ll need to depend entirely on his fluid strokeplay gunning for an upset. “I’ll go for my shots and I’m very different from Som who’ll chase down balls and is a counter-puncher. The ball’s flying around here, so it suits my style. But a longer match will mean I’m playing well, so all I need to do is be prepared to physically handle 5 sets,” Yuki says of his comeback after missing the away tie in Korea.

What’ll help him is also being mentally fresh and not staring at a possible 0-1 pressure situation for India, as well as his opponent’s unfamiliarity of the Indian’s game.

“I’ve never played him, and he seems a good player. But I’m prepared,” said Lajovic, the young gun in whom Serbia has entrusted charge to keep them in the World Group. His stint with Nadal wasn’t just a faint brush with greatness.

“Watching him, I realized why he’s best. I’ve learnt to be 100 per cent positive and intense in practice, and not take it easy. It’s improved my focus,” he adds. Novak is always a text-message away too.

Weak link

Unlike the first singles rubber, the second one pits Filip Krajinavic (age 22, ranked 101) against India’s best singles player Somdev and is the most open of contests. Krajinavic is known to Bhambri since they’ve trained together at the Bollitieri Academy since age 14, and much note-exchanging will happen in the Indian camp.

Krajinavic can be called Serbia’s weak-link — if being higher-ranked than both Indians can still qualify as weak — but he offers the hosts their best chance to go 1-1 into Day 2.

Somdev Devvarman went form-chasing to Shanghai in the last week and was runners-up there, adding a doubles final for good measure. He’s no stranger to the waiting game either, prepared to calmly pace the locker room or sit still, should the first singles drag out, not playing havoc with his patience, till 6 or 7 in the evening.

His Grand Slam experience, as well as a similar situation in Chinese Taipei where he played in twilight and won the rubber, makes him India’s all-important player on Day 1, though team captain Anand Amritraj insisted both Serbian singles players were equally potent.

“Filip’s coming off the best season of his career,” Somdev stressed of his rival being the in-form player, but it’s just as well that the 28-year-old, who has collected some serious experience and guile in the last few years of high-pressure ties, deals with the second singles of the day.

Serbian captain Bogdan Obradovic though had the final roaring word. After a week of being told that Djokovic’s absence might have endangered Serbia’s World Group status, the team captain silenced the room with a booming reminder.

“Please don’t forget we are finalists from last year. Even without Novak, Troicki and Tipsarevic, we’re a very strong and competitive team high on confidence. These are our young big guns and we are determined to play big in the future.”

On his part, Yuki Bhambri knows the odds, but does he know how to beat them will be interesting to watch while it unfolds.