Russia march into quarterfinals

Mikhail Youzhny proves his dominance yet again in the must-win encounter for India as he knocks out Somdev Devvarman.

A day after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi gave the Russians a doubles lesson, Mikhail Youzhny returned the favour with a clinical exhibition of singles play against India No.1 Somdev Devvarman on Sunday afternoon. Youzhny’s 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 straight-set win over Somdev helped Russia ease into the Davis Cup last eight. Rohan Bopanna’s blitz in the dead rubber against Teimuraz Gabashvili came in a little too late.

Earlier, Youzhny wiped off any chances of an Indian turnaround in the first reverse singles match of the first-round Davis Cup tie against India at the Small Sports Arena "Luzhniki" in Moscow with his dominant play, racing to a double break in the first set for a 5-1 lead, only 23 minutes into the match.

Somdev, literally played into the hands of the Russian world No.13, inviting the in-form Russian to dictate play. 15 winners from Youzhny to India’s three said the story as the first set went Russia’s way, 6-2.

The hosts continued the rampage even after the first 35 minutes, as Youzhny galloped to a 4-0 lead in the second set. Somdev battled back to hold serve in the fifth game without conceding a point to the world No.13 to get off the mark.

Russia’s familiar strategy of dropping it short to Somdev earned the hosts positive results yet again on Sunday afternoon, forcing the Indian to hit the ball out of the court in frustration. Trailing 1-5, Somdev was pushed against the wall as the Russian grabbed the second set 6-1 in 28 minutes.

The best point of the match came an hour and a half into the match, with Youzhny facing yet another breakpoint on Somdev’s serve when both players matched each other with every shot. But, Youzhny prevailed to go up 3-1. The occasional passing shots brought some cheer to an otherwise tough day for the Indian as he showed more fighting character.

In the following game, Somdev stretched Youzhny on his serve, earning himself a rare breakpoint. But the Russian, with his blazing backhand was in no mood to show mercy as he went ahead 4-1.

A point to remember for Somdev came in the last few minutes of the match, when he was serving to stay in the match at 2-5. The Indian world No.128, got the better of Youzhny who had troubled him with ‘drop shots’. Reaching it just in time, Somdev pushed it down-the-line, away from Youzhny, reducing the margin to 3-5. But, it was soon curtains for India as Russia, ranked No.3 in the world proved their top billing by sealing the set 6-3 and with that the tie 3-1 in less than two hours.

In the dead rubber, Bopanna with his booming serves blew away Gabashvili in straight sets, 7-6(5) 6-4 to salvage some pride for the visitors. The big-serving Indian, ranked outside Top 400 fired more than a dozen aces to beat the 109th-ranked Russian in a classic display of serve-and-volley game.

So, Russia advanced to the quarterfinals for the 11th time in 12 years with a 3-2 win over India. The two-time Davis Cup champions extended their winning run to 17 in as many ties at home, dating back to 1996.

Earlier on Friday, Somdev let his advantage slip away as he missed a golden opportunity to put India ahead 1-0 in the tie, when he lost to Igor Kunitysn after being a set up and well in command in the second. Rohan Bopanna too followed the same way, falling to Youzhny as India trailed 0-2. The Russian lead was cut short to 2-1 as Paes and Bhupathi won the doubles tie on Saturday. A brilliant show, but just not enough against the Russian powerhouse!

Russia will play either Argentina or Sweden in the quarterfinals.