Tennis, Davis Cup: Ramkumar, Sriram secure contrasting wins to give India 2-0 lead over Pakistan

Ramkumar Ramanathan and N Sriram Balaji won their respective singles ties on Saturday to give India a 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group I play-off match against Pakistan in Islamabad.

While Ramkumar beat Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi (3) 6-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the first match of the day, Balaji secured a 7-5, 6-3 win against Aqeel Khan in a rain-marred match at the grass courts of the Pakistan Sports Complex in the nation’s capital.

43-year-old Qureshi came out all guns blazing in the opening set against a 29-year-old Ramkumar. Both players were strong with their serves with no break point opportunities arriving at all. Qureshi took a 3-0 lead in the tiebreak and won a point off Ramkumar’s serve once again on his way on clinching the tiebreak 7-3.