India and Serbia will have to wait another day to finish their absorbing, jaw dropping Davis Cup World Group playoff after rain decided to play spoilsport in Bangalore on Sunday night.
Somdev Devvarman had pulled off a stunning five-set win over Dusan Lajovic to pull India level at 2-2 against Serbia, with Yuki Bhambri and Filip Krajinovic taking to court for the deciding rubber.
Krajinovic was in control of the match, having taken the first set comfortably enough 6-3, with the second set on serve at 4-4 after two breaks each from the two players.
Just when the fans in Bangalore looked like they were to be treated for another humdinger of a Davis Cup match, the rain, which had initially stopped play right after the first set, decided to come down rather heavily and stay on for nearly two hours, forcing the officials to postpone the match to tomorrow.
Play was called off a little after 11 pm local time, after mopping up operations proved to be too much, with the match now set to resume on Monday at 12 noon IST.
Bhambri will hope the heat and humidity from the afternoon will help him come back against Krajinovic, who did look the stronger of the two players before the rain delay.
The Indian youngster will need to be a lot more consistent and show a bit more of a stomach for the fight, much like Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna, in the doubles, and Somdev, in the first reverse singles, did earlier.
Krajinovic is a player capable of making the big shots, but also fails to cope with the pressure if things start to go against him.
Getting off to a quick start will be essential for Bhambri on Monday, and if the Indian can wrap up the second set to level the match, it will put him in good stead.
Of course, Serbia will know a second set victory for Krajinovic will put them on the brink of victory, and, no doubt, the player will go all out early as well.
So, Monday's resumption of the match promises to be a cracker, with hopefully, plenty of fans streaming in to cheer India on.
