The Indian Davis Cup team capped off its historic visit to Pakistan after 60 years by sealing a place in World Group I as Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni handed the side an unassailable 3-0 lead in the play-off tie with their comfortable win here Sunday.
Taking the court with a 2-0 lead in the pocket, Bhambri and Myneni subdued the home team of Muzammil Murtaza and Aqeel Khan 6-2 7-6(5) in the doubles rubber to extend India's dominance over Pakistan in the tournament.
Aqeel replaced Barkat Ullah in the side. The idea was to have an experienced player for the do-or-die match, a defeat in which gives India the tie. However, Bhambri and the big-serving Myneni did not put a foot wrong in the match in which they were not troubled by their rivals much.
Myneni's big serves were too hot to handle for the home team. Myneni hardly lost a point on his serve and was also superb at the net. The Indian players' returns were also better as several times Bhambri sent down winners between the two Pakistani players.
It was India's eighth win in as many meetings in the event, called the World Cup of tennis and now it will compete in World Group I in September this year while Pakistan will stay in Group II.
The Indian team adapted well to the tough conditions and the heavy security around them, not letting the restrictions on their movement have an adverse impact on them.
The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) did well in creating a safety net around the players, as several agencies worked in tandem to ensure that the historic tie went without any untoward incidents.
Bhambri and Myneni had a tight grip over the contest from the beginning. They broke Aqeel in the first and fifth games for a commanding 4-1 lead. In game one, Aqeel hit a backhand long and wide to be down two breakpoints.
While Myneni hit wide on first, he found an easy volley winner on Aqeel's feeble return. The Pakistani stalwart again dropped serve in game five, his overhead flat smash flying over the baseline at 30-all and Bhambri sent down a crushing forehand winner between the two players to close the game.
Murtaza went down by three set points in game seven but saved all as the two players finally got some rhythm. Bhambri came out to serve the set and did with ease as Murtaza could not return a widish serve from the Indian on the first set point.
Aqeel finally began to hold his serve. The second set was 5-5 on serve. In between Murtaza saved three break chances in game five. It boiled down to a tie-breaker in which a few errors from the Indians got the Pakistanis ahead 4-2.
However, Bhambri and Myneni ensured that there was no twist in the tale. They quickly made it 5-5 as Aqeel and Murtaza lacked coordination.