Yuichi Sugita dumps Somdev Devvarman in opening rubber – Davis Cup World Group Play-offs 2011
Rated at number 175 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Japan’s Yuichi Sugita stunned the 65th ranked Indian, Somdev Devvarman, in the opening rubber of the Davis Cup World Group playoffs
on Friday.
The contest was staged on the outdoor hard courts of the Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan, with Sugita getting an early advantage for the home side in the tie. The Japanese came up to the expectations of the local and registered a
straight sets victory in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, to get his team a 1-0 lead in the competition against Team India.
Sugita took two hours and twenty five minutes of play to dispose of the 65thranked Devvarman to level his head-to-head series against the Indian at 1-1. In their last meeting at Washington in 2009, Devvarman took down
Sugita in straight sets 6-0, 7-6(6), but the Indian failed to replicate the similar performance on Friday.
It was only the fifth victory for the Japanese in the running ATP season, with eight defeats already to his name. Sugita displayed a magnificent display of power hitting and gave minimum opportunities to the Indian to come on top.
With a below par serve of merely 48 per cent, Sugita amazing reeled off 43 out of his 48 first serve points to come on top. The Japanese struck 53 thudding winners in the matchup, with Devvarman lagging far behind with merely 19 winners to finish on the losing
side in the end.
Despite of an overall brilliant performance with the racquet, Sugita also coughed 40 unforced errors in contest, while the Indian opponent conceded just 29. Sugita used his forehand to it maximum effect in the game, as 40 winners
came from his mighty forehand side. Devvarman was off to a sloppy start in the opener and got some pace in the later sets but it came all too late. Sugita brought a precious win for Team Japan and will certainly uplift the spirit of his fellow Japanese in
the coming rubbers.
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