Davis Cup: India beat Pakistan with Leander Paes clinching record 44th doubles win

India's veteran tennis star Leander Paes bettered his own record by winning his 44th doubles match in Davis Cup along with debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead against Pakistan with victory in the third rubber in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Pakistani teenagers 17-year-old Mohammed Shoaib and Hufaiza Abdul Rehman couldn't match the Indian duo's performance who won the match 6-1, 6-3 in just 53 minutes.

Paes last year had become the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he won his 43rd doubles match, surpassing Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli during the tie against China.

Paes had taken 56 ties for his 43rd win while Pietrangeli competed in 66 ties and won 42 doubles matches.

Paes' record of 44 wins is unlikely to be broken anytime soon as except him, none of the active doubles player feature in the top-10 list.

Hufaiza and Shoaib started with a hold of 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 then 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.

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.

On Friday, India’s young tennis sensation Sumit Nagal dominated the challenge as he defeated Pakistan’s Huzaifa Abdul Rehman in straight sets 6-0, 6-2. Earlier, Ramkumar Ramanathan beat Muhammad Shoaib and clinched a double bagel 6-0, 6-0 to give India a winning start to the day.

India, with players with experience like Sumit Nagal, Ramkumar Ramanathan and veteran Leander Paes, was expected to win but with Pakistan top players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan pulling out, India is expected to face hardly any contest.

While the Indian players have Grand Slam experience behind them, the Pakistanis are still struggling to make a mark even at the ITF Futures level. At least, the doubles rubber would have been competitive if Pakistan’s top players were there but they chose not to play, protesting against shifting of the tie. It will be a learning experience for Pakistan’s junior players, who will lead their country’s challenge in the tie, the winner of which will travel to Croatia in March 2020 for the World Group Qualifiers.