New Delhi, Sept 20: Rookie Rohan Bopanna scared the daylights out of world No 14 Martin Verkerk before going down in a marathon five-setter while Debutant Prakash Amritraj caved in without a fight as hosts Holland took a 2-0 lead against India in their Davis Cup world group playoff tie at Zwolle, Holland last night. Bopanna, in a gruelling five-hour long battle played in the indoor stadium, twice took the lead against a hugely fancied rival, but could not sustain the tempo going down 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (9), 12-10.
According to information received here, in the second opening singles match, Amritraj put in a rather poor debut losing in straight sets to Sjeng Schalken 6-3 6-1 6-1.
Amritraj could not emulate Bopanna as the India No 2 put in remarkable performance. At 11-10 in the last and deciding set, Bopanna went down two match points when his forehand missed the line by a hair. He fought back with a service winner, but lost the match with a chip-and-charge shot that went long.
On Saturday, Verkerk and John Van Lottum were up against Bopanna and doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi.
If India wins the tie, it would return to the top Davis Cup group for the first time since 1998. The Dutch have been members of the elite club for 12 years.
Bureau Report