Paes- Bops seal issue for hosts
India take unassailable 3- 0 lead in Group I tie against South Korea, enter play- offs
Chandigarh, July 16: Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna outclassed the South Korean pair of Seong Chan Hong and Hong Chung in straight sets to guide India into the Davis World Group playoffs as the hosts took an unassailable 3- 0 lead in the Asia/ Oceania Group I tie here on Friday.
The Indians did not even need their A game in trouncing the visitors 6- 3, 6- 4, 6- 4 in just an hour and 41 minutes at the grass courts of Chandigarh Club.
Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won their respective singles on Friday to hand India a 2- 0 cushion.
The reluctant partners for the Rio Olympics did not face any competition from the Koreans in what is their only match together before the Games.
Even as the Koreans managed to break Paes in the third set, they did not present any challenge to the Indians. But it was a treat for the fans, little more than a thousand, to watch the Indian pair cruise to the win under overcast and friendly conditions.
Teaming up for the fifth time at the Davis Cup, this was their third win. Before this Paes and Bopanna had won against Serbia ( 2014) and Kazakhstan ( 2007) and lost to Uzbekistan ( 2012) and the Czech Republic ( 2015).
Captain Anand Amritraj would be delighted to see that his idea of playing on the grass worked for his side.
In the inconsequential reverse singles, Myneni will face Seong Chan Hong and Ramkumar will take on Yong- Kyu Lim on Sunday.
India’s rivals in the World Group play- offs in September will be either China or Uzbekistan, who led 2- 1 at the end of Day Two of their tie.
The rain stayed away on Friday and this morning, and the court played much better, offering good bounce.
Sending down two double faults in the opening game was the only blemish for Bopanna, who kept tormenting Chung and Hong with his booming serves in the range of 200kmph throughout the match.
He fired nine out of the 12 aces that India hit on Saturday.
The vintage touch of Paes too was on display as the veteran hit many unreachable drop shots. Age might have slowed him down a bit but he still has the best hands in the country. And the Koreans got a taste of Paes’ master class.
Such was the domination of Indians that together they lost only 17 points on serve. Out of 17, 10 they lost only in the third set, maybe because they got a little complacent.