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Davis Cup playoff: Ramkumar Ramanathan rallies to win, India go 2-0 vs Pakistan
Ramkumar Ramanathan rallies to beat Aisam-ul Quershi while Sriram Balaji wins in straight sets on Day 1 of the Davis Cup Group 1 playoff tie in Islamabad
In the sixth game of the second set, N Sriram Balaji slipped and fell going for a backhand sprinting across the green. He quickly found his feet again to respond to a feeble volley from Aqeel Khan with a forehand that did not come back.
That point summed up the opening day of the Davis Cup World Group I play-off tie between India and Pakistan in Islamabad on Saturday. The visitors took the expected 2-0 lead, but not before some hiccups and unexpected fight from the hosts who fielded a couple of 43-year-olds for the two singles rubbers.
India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Balaji though got the job done in the end, the former rallying from a set down to beat Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-0 and the latter brushing past Khan 7-5, 6-3 to give the depleted visiting team a 2-0 lead. India will look to seal the tie in the doubles encounter — Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni will play Barkatullah and Muzammil Murtaza — on Sunday, which will take them to World Group I.
With an Indian Davis Cup team visiting Pakistan after 60 years and the low-bouncing grass courts of Islamabad somewhat alien to most of the Indian players, there was a certain degree of the unknown around this tie which, on paper, was a mismatch.
Aisam, the doubles specialist who last played singles on the ATP Tour in 2017 yet continues to do so for his country, though began on an even keel against Ramkumar. Leading the Indian charge in the absence of Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar has the serve-and-volley game to suit the surface but even he was tested by Rohan Bopanna's former partner from across the border. Aisam's impressive serving in the first set (he won 92% points on his first serve) offset Ramkumar's 10 aces, taking the set to the tiebreaker where the Pakistani bagged an early mini break and soon the set.
The Indian responded by breaking Aisam's serve in the opening game of the second set before the latter levelled things up in the fourth game. Aisam had a few more break opportunities but Ramkumar managed to wriggle out of it and force another tiebreaker. This time, the Indian kicked things off with a mini break and rode the momentum to force a decider.
With the 43-year-old increasingly struggling physically, the third set turned out to be a no-contest. The Indian finished the match with 20 aces, and his opponent with 10 double faults.
“This will go down as a special win for me given we are in Pakistan. It is not easy to win away,” Ramkumar was quoted as saying by PTI. “I adapted really well. Aisam slowed down the game while serving.”
Balaji, 33, has not played singles on the Tour for two years but was picked over young Niki Poonacha perhaps keeping the surface in mind. He had a far smoother outing against Aqeel, whose career-high singles ranking of 349 came a decade ago, in their rain-hit tie.
Balaji broke Aqeel in the 12th game with Aqeel serving to take the first set into a tiebreaker. The decisive break came earlier in the second set, for a 4-2 lead for the Indian which was enough to close the tie.
