Last weekend was a special one for a few of us, who went and watched a Davis Cup Tennis tie live at the KSLTA (Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Associations) Tennis Courts at Cubbon Park, Bangalore. This tie was between India and Indonesia in the Asia-Oceania play-offs, and India thumped Indonesia convincingly (5-0) to progress. We were there on Saturday, the doubles match day, and Leander Paes teamed up with young Sanam Singh to clinch an unassailable 3-0 lead in the rubber and won it for India with ease, with a straight sets victory of 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
We got to witness many of the greats of Indian Tennis that day, thanks to KSLTA which had organized a felicitation for them. Ramanathan Krishnan, Ramesh Krishnan, Anand Amritraj, S. P. Mishra, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes were all felicitated, and Rohan Bopanna and Jaideep Mukherjee were in town too. Singles players Somdev Devverman and Yuki Bhambri had the day off, having won their respective ties in singles the previous day, and were with the team to cheer the doubles pair.
This was Leander Paes' 50th Davis Cup appearance, and getting an opportunity to watch this legend play his best tennis was great. Colleague and friend Thomas was the first to float the idea of going to the game, and I'm certainly thankful to him for that.
Some photos from the event:
Felicitation of legends
Indian Team takes to the court
S. P. Mishra gives some tips to Sanam and Leander
Leander Paes gets ready to serve
Sanam Singh in anticipation of a return from the Indonesians
Bopanna watches the action from the stands
And so does Jaideep Mukherjee
In the thick of action
Us, watching...
Leander and Sanam discuss gameplan before the next serve
A moment of contention, Leander discusses with the chair umpire
Leander with his sign language to communicate to Sanam, where the next serve must go
Sanam Singh returns
Leander and Sanam ready to receive
A tough return with ease, by Leander
The team enjoys the win with a lap of honour
Somdev pops the champagne and drenches skipper Mishra in delight, after the presentation
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