Chennai Open: Somdev Devvarman’s new year starts like old

Facing him was the man who he has been practising with for the last couple of days, Hsun Lu from Taipei. Lu grunts at every shot, not at impact but just before, as a starting point of swinging into his shots. It’s an exaggerated exhalation of breath, not a manic shriek that jars the ears. He also has a rather high toss at serve and curious tiny stretches of the left foot as the ball comes down. As if a man groping in the dark at a staircase, trying to check if it’s a step or landing ahead of him but everything clicks into place as the ball eventually meets the racquet. Somdev on the other hand couldn’t get going. His forehand, that he had worked hard to improve in the off season in Australia with Tony Roche, the man who coached Federer once, betrayed him again Tuesday night. He lacked rhythm and even his baseline retrieval game had deserted him.

There was a point in the first game of the second set that captured his best and also, the part that ailed him most. It was 30-30 and Lu had pounced on a weak serve. Pushed wider and wider on the back hand with every shot, Somdev did what he does. He ran furiously, stretched, slid, lunged and retrieved everything. Lu kept up the intensity, constantly widening the angle on Somdev’s backhand. Eventually, came the moment where Somdev could only push back a weak ball from outside the tram lines, which was killed remorselessly from the net. He lost that game but broke back to make it 2-3 but lost his serve immediately as Lu pounded with a range of deep hits from his top-spin heavy forehand.

As Somdev said later even Lu wasn’t at his rhythmic best but it was enough to stub out the last Indian from the singles. Good news though was just around the corner. Leander Paes, playing with his 99th (!) doubles partner, the South African Raven Klaase, won his first match in straight sets.