Clean sweep in contrasting styles

Fazaluddin, on the other hand, was confidence personified as he wrapped up the fifth rubber 6-3, 6-3 over Jiang Shan who came in place of injured Zhang Yu.

It was not fatigue which bothered Paes out there. It was the task of staying focussed in a match which had no relevance whatsoever. Playing at half-pace, he seemed to be more keen on fine-tuning his shots from the back of the court. Onthe other hand, Zhu Ben-Qiang was all keyed-up and kept Paes busy with his returns. The Chinese went a break up in the fifth and was all set to serve out the set when Paes raised his game that wee bit to level scores.The Indian retreated into his shell in the tie-breaker and was soon 0-5 down. But with a couple of returns and volleys he made it 5-5. In the second set, it was Paes’s turn to be broken while serving for the set. He hung in and took the second set after which the Zhu had little resistance to offer.

Meanwhile, Fazaluddin played a more composed game. He banged in even his second serves as hard as the first and managed to drill winners above the high part of the net. His opponent, Jiang Shan, was focussed alright but his very limited repertoire did not give him the freedom to try and improvise.A break each in the two sets was enough for the Calcutta lad to register his second straight win on his debut. Indeed, it was the most rewarding weekend for Fazaluddin in his entire career.