Leander Paes Betters Davis Cup Record, India Seal Contest Against Pakistan

Veteran Leander Paes bettered his own Davis Cup record by winning his 44th doubles match, this time partnering debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan, as India blanked Pakistan 4-0 on Saturday to earn a spot in the 2020 Qualifiers. Pakistani teenagers Mohammed Shoaib and Hufaiza Abdul Rehman were no match for the Indian combination of the battle-hardened Paes and Jeevan, who needed just 53 minutes to win 6-1 6-3. Last year, Paes became the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he won his 43rd match, surpassing Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli during the tie against China.

The 46-year-old had taken 56 ties for his 43rd win while Pietrangeli competed in 66 ties for his 42 victories. "It was fabulous playing with Jeevan in his first Davis Cup match. Right from the beginning he did everything right. It was being about staying solid today. Jeevan has a big heart, he loves to play for flag. I am proud to share the court with him," said Paes. "These guys keep me young, fresh and vibrant. They bring out the best in me. We have got a great mix of different generations and different age groups. It's lot of fun to be back to playing for India again," added the winner of 18 Grand Slam titles.

His record of 44 wins in 57 ties is unlikely to be broken anytime soon as except him, none of the active doubles players feature in the top-10 list. Belarusian Max Mirnyi, at number three, has 36 wins but has not played on Tour since 2018. In the reverse singles, Sumit Nagal trounced Yousaf Khalil 6-1 6-0 for his second straight win. Both the sides opted not to play the dead fifth rubber. The fourth rubber is played even if the outcome of the tie is decided after the first three matches but the rules permit teams to skip playing the dead fifth rubber.

"It was easy win, I understand they are young players, need experience. Today was my last match of the year and I can't complain. It has been a fantastic year for me," said Nagal after his win. Saturday's result means India have won all the matches in a tie for the first time since February 2014 when they had blanked Chinese Taipei 5-0 in Indore. India will now face world number two Croatia for the Qualifiers in an away tie, to be held on March 6-7. Twenty-four nations will go head-to-head in a bid to win one of 12 qualifying spots for the Davis Cup Finals.

The 12 losing nations will compete in World Group I ties in September 2020 while the winning nations will join the six nations who have already qualified for the Finals - the 2019 semi-finalists, Canada, Great Britain, Russia and Spain, and the 2020 wild cards, France and Serbia. In the third rubber, Hufaiza and Shoaib began by holding serve in the opening game of the match, but the Indians broke the teenagers in the third game before holding their own for a 3-1 lead.

Paes and Jeevan took control of the match with another break of serve in the fifth game. Jeevan served a double fault at 30-15, but the Pakistanis could not put pressure on their rivals, as India zoomed to a 5-1 lead.

Also Read | Leander Paes To Return To India Davis Cup Squad After One Year For Pakistan Clash

Serving to stay in the set, Shoaib was down 0-40, giving India three chances to close the opening set. Paes and Jeevan grabbed the second. The Indians had a few chances to break their rivals early in the second set but the Pakistani duo held its nerves to save them. There was some fight in the second set, which was locked 3-3. Paes and Jeevan got a break in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and the former served out the match in the next.

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