Doubles win inspired me, says Somdev

Bangalore, Sep 14 (IANS) The doubles win by Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna that kept India in the reckoning was a huge source of inspiration, Somdev Devvarman said Sunday after he won a five-set battle against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic to tie the rubber in the Davis Cup World Group playoff here.

"Of course, last night's (Saturday's doubles) win was a massive inspiration for me. I had told Paes and Bopanna that I was disappointed with my defeat in the first singles (against Filip Krajinovic) on Friday and asked them to give me a chance (to make amends), which they did."

"To watch two senior players of the team come back from two sets down and win in five did inspire me and I told myself to keep pushing every point after I lost the first set against Lajovic," said Devvarman, who probably scored one of his finest victories in Davis Cup.

"It is never easy to play at home. There is a lot of pressure because everyone in the stands wants you to win. I was a bit tight to begin with, but I kept pushing myself every point. Also, my teammates on courtside helped me a lot by encouraging me."

"I did consciously try to slow down the pace. He was a bit more physical than me. He is a very steady player and I made too many errors at the start of the match, but after I won the second set, I began to play better," he said.

Devvarman came into the Davis Cup tie with a runner-up finish in the Shanghai Challenger tournament last weekend.

On his part, Lajovic was obviously dejected that he lost and that he was unable to finish points when ahead, but hoped that his team will eventually win the tie.

"It is disappointing to lose the match. I just couldn't finish the points and that can be pretty dangerous against an opponent like Somdev.

"I completely lost my plan to play points on my serve, and towards the end, was not serving as well," he said.