New Delhi: Desperate to return to the Davis Cup world group, Spain chose to finish off their duty on Day Two itself as they beat India 3-0 in their playoff tie at the RK Khanna Stadium here on Saturday.
The visitors fielded their best bet and Rio Olympic gold combination Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez for the doubles rubber as they beat home Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni 4-6, 7-5 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 in a marathon three hours 23 minutes match. On opening day Spain clinched both singles rubber.
The match started with both teams holding their serves without losing a single point till the third game. The visiting side, relying on Lopez’s sliced backhand and Nadal’s clean returns, broke the India duo in the fourth game to enjoy a 3-1 lead.
The next game also went the Spaniards’ way and it seemed the match will also follow the same course.
But the fifth game saw the rise of Indian duo as they brought their A game to the fore. With veteran Paes’ magical advice, the inexperienced Myneni also gained his lost touch and they broke their higher ranked opponents with ease.
Thereafter it was no looking back for the home team as they levelled the scores in the next game without wasting much time. The Rio Olympic winners were broken in the next game again to their surprise with Nadal hitting twice into nets and giving the Indians the much-needed 5-4 lead, the first time in the opening set. Egged on by their lead, the hosts soon pocketed the set with Paes coming to the nets to earn crucial points.
Leander and Myneni started the second set from where they had left the earlier one, racing to a 3-1 lead en route to breaking the visiting side’s game once. The next three games went with the serve as Spain closed the gap to 3-4.
