Kidambi Srikanth doesn’t win too much these days. In fact he doesn’t have a single World Tour title since the new set of tournaments started. He does have 6 Super Series titles though, the comms noted.But playing at the Denmark Open nine years after his dream season of 2017 when he won the last of his four titles in one season, the 33-year-old had turned back time. He even had coach Pullela Gopichand in his corner taking on world champion Alex Lanier. But what was almost magically nostalgic was Srikanth dominating the net in his pre quarters of the Super 750.His fast-spinning tumbles and angled dribbles left the newly crowned world champ at 21, completely boggled, as it once had bothered the great Lin Dan.Srikanth lost 21-11, 15-21, 15-21, but not before he put the world champion in serious trouble.The Srikanth smash is sleek, stylish, efficient, a game-setter. In the second set at 5-3, Srikanth ended a fast paced rally with a gorgeous reverse slice down the line, leaving Lanier uttering ‘whoa’. But it was at the net that the Indian with his variations caught a chokehold of the Frenchman before he struck back.Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne, Mushtaq Ahmed and Anil Kumble would’ve been proud of the spin Srikanth got on the net paperclip tumbles. It showed he was adding layers to his game that might make him competitive in the 15 point format.The shuttle spun so much, Lanier was left waiting fof an eternity even when standing right there, to compose a return which Srikanth would promptly push behind.Story continues below this adIn the first 11-break, Lanier’s Lithuanian coach Kestutis Navickas diagnosed his ward’s problem – helplessness against Srikanth’s net-play that was turning unplayable from the first spin.“What is the problem with his game?” Navickas asked, “It’s spinning too much. He’s too fast,” Lanier complained. It had begun to get into his head so much that the coach had to tell him to shirk away and retreat back and launch his attack from there.While Srikanth continued to harry the Frenchman with his classical elegance and net trickery, as the latter crawled back, Navickas had to shake Lanier out of his passive responses.“Crazy stuff,” the European coach and his ward discussed, as Navickas tried to inject some proactive play into Lanier. “You don’t wait until you get the feeling of being proactive. Force the feeling to push your legs into moving,” he said. Lanier would respond by blitzing him with speed. The pace definitely bothered Srikanth, and brought on net errors from Srikanth. Lanier got confidence from attacking a net return with a tap and went on to claim the second 21-15.Story continues below this adBut the mid-set chat was instructive when Lanier was told, “He would want to control the net. Just lift. No need to play crazy good shot. Continue. Slice it down. And then move forward to take control. You know why he’s getting you on the net? You never challenged his spin back. Lift if you want, spin if you want. Any kind of lift, wait for a hard attack.”The coach knew it wasn’t over in the decider. Momentums matter not a jot to Srikanth. Lanier was warned, “When he (Srikanth) attacks, I understand it’s not possible to return. Use speed and push yourself to the front court. First lift is important. Defense first.” Change of courts and a rejuvenated Srikanth however gave the Indian a 5-2 lead.“Don’t do anything. Just use your speed,” Navickas yelled as the match intensity was through the roof.In the third, Srikanth eschewed the dribbles and deceptively started sending the shuttle back – the lifts making Lanier move around, the high clears and deep smashes pushing him back, and on 10-8 making Lanier duck for cover.Story continues below this adSrikanth would take a 11-9 lead in the decider as Lanier was caught mid court while the Indian passed him with a flick when the Frenchman got too cute at the net.Navickas spent that interval telling Lanier that his game was working from the back. “No need to jump. Just smash with an angle.” And speed.Lanier would bulldoze and use his speed + defense to swamp Srikanth and race away to a win. But not before the second youngest World Champion, was sent in a tizzy by the Indian, a dozen years his senior with a net game that still has sting.