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| April 10, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1427 |
Davis Cup Playoff: Gallant Paes outwits Aqeel as India win
MUMBAI, April 9: Seasoned campaigner Leander Paes made surprising recovery from cramps to beat Aqeel Khan in the final set as Pakistan narrowly lost a tantalizing Davis Cup playoff 2-3 against India on Sunday. Pakistan needed to win both the reverse singles on the last day of the three-day five-match tie, with India already leading 2-1.
Pakistan's top player Aisamul Haq disposed of Indian seed No.1 Prakash Amritraj 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in two hours and 38 minutes in the first reverse singles to make it 2-2.
In the second reverse singles, Paes won the first two sets but later developed cramps in the third set, losing the third and the fourth. However, he was back in the final set to win the match and the tie for India.
Paes beat Aqeel 6-4, 7-6(4), 3-6, 0-6, 6-1 in nearly four hours of gruelling tennis in hot and humid conditions.
The crowd was silenced when India's playing captain Paes meekly lost the third and fourth sets but cheered he staged a comeback in the final set, breaking Aqeel in the second and seventh games and clinching the tie -- the first between the two countries in 33 years.
Aqeel built up a two points lead for the break in the first game of the last set before losing the initiative with some erratic shots as a charged Paes regained his composure.
“If I had been able to break him in the first game of the final set, the result of that final set would have been different”, said Aqeel. ”I didn't relax even in the third and fourth sets as I was expecting a comeback from Leander”.
“I was trying to tire him out in the third and fourth sets and to save my energy for the final set. It worked,” said Paes who, at 33, was playing a singles match after a long time.
“He had replaced regular player — Rohan Bopanna.
“I really thought we had the tie under our belt. But that man Leander Paes was conserving his energy for the last set which he emphatically won,” said Pakistan non-playing captain Rashid Malik.
Paes has been among the top-100 singles players of the world and he used his experienced to beat younger Aqeel, said Rashid who lauded the fight put up by Aqeel.
“If Aqeel would have broken Leander in the first game of the last set, the result would have been reversed,” former Davis Cup player said.
Paes took two medical times out and probably received treatment by going to the dressing room, while Aqeel also called for medical time out in the final set but received treatment on court.
The victory helped India retain a place in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania
Zone, Group-I, while Pakistan will now take on China away in their second playoff tie which they are required to win to stay in the prestigious Group-I.
Earlier, Aisam broke Amritraj six times and hit 22 aces against the Indian to win the first reverse singles though he too developed cramps at the end of the third game and went to the hospital after the match.
“It was a great opportunity for us to win in India but luck perhaps was not with us,” said Aisam.—APP
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