The World No.4 beat Axelsen 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 at Basel on Sunday. (Source: File)

One-set all; trailing 8-9 in the decider of Swiss Open final at Basel: Kidambi Srikanth contorts the spine and torso across his body and primes himself for the high backhand from the far left corner of his back-court. The resultant toss ought to travel cross-court where his elbow is pointing. Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen is in two minds to scurry to his far left to get into position. Except, a last-minute wrist-rubber-snapping by Srikanth — with an identical forearm action as the crosscourt — dramatically alters the trajectory of the toss and sends the shuttle actually flying straight on the court down-the-line. Axelsen scrambles for the return, but Srikanth would send the follow-up to the exact spot straight up ahead with a fierce smash to draw level at 9-9.

A backhand toss variation, played under extreme pressure to grab momentum. Think cricket’s arm-ball or slider. Leading 18-14 in Set 3: A long rally with incredible retrievals and equally desperate diving. Axelsen, the taller of the two 21-year-olds has drawn admiring gasps from the crowd at this Grand Prix gold event sneaking in a return in the middle of spinning 360 degrees mid-air. Srikanth keeps the shuttle in play and fires a smash two exchanges later to right of Axelsen’s forehand, rushing in from mid-court so the shuttle swishes right past the Dane’s nose. One of many aggressive crosscourt smashes, some hit deeper than others. Think cricket’s perfume ball.

And finally, up 17-12 in opener: Gliding towards the left corner of the forecourt, Srikanth flicks his wrist so the shuttle skims over the net and lands cross court doing a little dolphin jump at a tight angle. There’s the flick and the tap at the net that helps him dominate deception at the front of the court. Think high jump’s Fosbury Flop curving over the bar. It is these three strokes that Kidambi Srikanth unfurled on way to claiming his 5th career title and first Swiss Open crown at Basel, winning 21-15, 12-21, 21-14. The 47-minute final — perhaps his shortest three-set match pointing to a swift pace of rallies — ended in the Guntur boy capping a week where he reached a career-best of World No 4 with a title that has eluded Indian men shuttlers all these years.

Srikanth would also claim the $120,000 title at St. Jakobshalle the same day as P Gopichand, his Hyderabad coach had attained his ranking-high at age 28, though the sheer variety in his strokes and evolved tactical nous means the 22-year-old promises to not stop at just No .4.

At the moment though, it is Srikanth’s unconventional strokes that can delight Indians and pull the crowds at the home Super Series in Delhi starting March 24. Anatomically these have been two very different paths leading upto No. 4 — Srikanth is the first Indian in 14 years to crack Top 5 — with their games quite distinct from each other.

“We’re two different eras, hence two varied styles. Yes, he likes to be aggressive and quick like me and we both like dominating the net, so those are the similarities. But he has far more variations when lifting shuttle from below the knees,” Gopichand says.

“The set of smashes to Viktor’s forehand, the two backhand tosses even as his opponent was trying to rush to net to keep him back and the net deception was very good,” the coach adds. Where Srikanth faltered was in Set 2 in defense, but he would stand his ground and come back from conceding 6 straight points to go from 4-1 to 4-7 in the decider and out-play the defending champ Dane at the net. “Srikanth has these net taps that are unlike most players. He manages to stop opponents from lifting, they’re an awkward length,” he says. What makes him different is how his smashes push back his opponents, pinning them behind the midcourt.

“The cross smashes landing is quite something. The kind of depth he gets on them,” Gopichand says. The variety is down to Srikanth’s early days playing doubles, and he happily dips into those strokes that catch singles opponents off-guard. The soft pushes and drives at the net take getting used to. Then there’s the big jumping smash which he actually uses as a set-up for his wristy touch play. Smooth in moving to the net immediately after the big booming projectile, Srikanth can anticipate returns and begin his wand-work at the net in one unruffled motion.

His backhand is a mine of immense possibilities and angles, and his finishing stroke is something Indians can be proud of, flaunting it as world-class. “In recent tournaments, he’s gotten more consistent as well. In close matches even if he’s down, he can change his game at will and stage comebacks from the verge of losing,” observes coach Vimal Kumar. “He’s pulling out matches that you’d think he won’t win. Right now, Jan Jorgensen and Srikanth are at the same level, with only Chen Long a shade better than both,” Vimal adds.

India could be looking at its first No. 1 material here. “He can of course get stronger and develop technically. And with Rio qualification, the big rush for points will start this year. But the best thing right now is that he’s No. 4 at 22. Unlike me, he has lots of time to make mistakes and recover,” Gopichand concludes.

At Delhi in a week’s time, there’s his classy game to savour.