Whitewash in Pink City

The match began, typically, with an ace from the Indian skipper, and stayed that way throughout. It wasn’t long before one saw the visitors wilting, both physically and mentally.

When Denis Istomin’s service was broken in the second game, with two double faults, it only made matters worse. 0-2 down against one of the best doubles pair in the world, on their turf, Istomin and Murad Inoyatov had no chance.

With the Indians all over the court, the opposition was on a ball hunt from the word go.

The only bright spot for them was breaking Mahesh’s serve in the fourth game of set 2. ‘‘Then we thought maybe we could win a set off them’’, said Murad.

But one service break does not a comeback make and the experienced Indian pair wrapped up the match in just under two hours.

Match lost, Uzbek captain Vadim Kutsenko sought to put a positive spin on things. ‘‘We were prepared for this, the youngsters have at least got the experience of playing one of the best players in the world (in doubles) on a new service.’’

Match won, the Indian camp was in no mood for rest. Instead, all thoughts turned to the World Group playoffs that are next on the agenda. Indian join Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Chile, Sweden, Belarus, USA, Germany and Great Britain in the playoffs, beside five others from the zonal competitions.

‘‘We play six of our eight WG ties at home this time, so that’s great’’, said Paes.

But there was a strong sense of satisfaction at the manner in which the job was done. It was evident in the alacrity with which they agreed to a press conference after the match, the game of Sepak Takraw that the team played, the spring in Leander’s step, the smile on Mahesh’s face.

And there’s more good news in the offing. If Paes takes to court tomorrow and wins, he will rise to eighth on the list of all-time Davis Cup greats with an astounding 75 victories. ‘‘I am aware it is my prerogative to rewrite the history books’’, he said.