India stamped its authority over Uzbekistan by winning the Davis Cup tie 4-1 to advance to the World Group Play-off in Bengaluru on Sunday. India's place in the World Group Play-offs, to be held in September, was secured once a 3-0 lead was grabbed in the Asia/Oceania Group I second round tie. The team was eyeing a whitewash but fell short in the second reverse singles' match.
Ramkumar Ramnathan continued India's domination of the home tie by outclassing Sanjar Fayziev 6-3, 6-2 in just 67 minutes in the first reverse singles at the KSLTA stadium. Left-handed Prajnesh Gunneswaran, though, had a hard battle at hand against the big-serving 406th ranked Ismailov. Ismailov negotiated the conditions much better than Fayziev and emerged a deserving 7-5, 6-3 winner in the second reverse singles. Both the players served big but debutant Prajnesh buckled under pressure in crucial moments and that made a difference to the outcome of the match.
Ismailov's victory meant that India could not force a whitewash. The last time India enjoyed a clean-sweep was in February 2014 when they hammered Chinese Taipei in Indore. However, it was a brilliant start for new captain Mahesh Bhupathi, who has introduced a few rules for the players and has his own style of carrying out business.
Spat between Bhupati and Paes
A simmering feud between stalwarts Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi has boiled over after an ugly public spat. After India's victory, Bhupathi lashed out at his sulking former doubles partner who was dropped from the squad last week. "We gave him the option (of being a part of the squad and playing as a reserve) and he readily took it," Bhupathi, the non-playing Davis Cup captain, said. "So after that, to sulk about not being in the (playing) four was a bit unprofessional," Bhupathi said of his friend-turned-foe.
Adding fuel to the fire, Bhupathi put up a screen shot of his WhatsApp conversation with Paes on social media in a free-for-all slugfest aimed at countering Paes' charge of being dropped in humiliating fashion at the last minute.
The conversation suggested that Paes had agreed to join the squad despite being told there was no guarantee he would be in the final four. Paes, 43, then accused Bhupathi of bias and using his position to deliberately keep him out of the squad. "I was never categorically told that I would not be playing, but it was apparent that the decision was made before I arrived in Bangalore. This is what I found unnecessary and disrespectful," Paes said in a statement.
"That a private (WhatsApp) exchange has been made public just points to the kind of conduct that I find unbecoming of a Davis Cup captain. "Talk is cheap, history books, however, don't lie," Paes fumed. Paes, dropped for the the first time in 27 years, is just one win away from becoming the most successful doubles player in Davis Cup history. With 42 doubles wins, Paes is currently tied with Italian legend Nicola Pietrangeli.
