Leander Adrian Paes enhanced his reputation further on the Davis Cup arena. The Indian put up a consummate performance, cutting Mark Nielsen to size with a sublime display of grass court tennis, winning under two hours at 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-2 to give India a 1-0 lead over New Zealand before rain intervened to spoil the day’s proceedings in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group I Second Round Davis Cup tennis match at the South Club courts here on Friday. After Kiwi Alistair Hunt won the toss and decided to receive against Rohan Bopanna in the second match of the day, the rain came pouring down to put a halt to the match before it started. Even though the rain stopped after an hour and sun was out in it’s full splendour, the chief referee decided to abandon play after the inspection at 3 p.m. because of wet court conditions. Indian star exposes Nielsen’s weakness The crowd loved it. The coaches of both teams appreciated his efforts. And even Mark Nielsen, who ended up on the losing side, acknowledged Leander Paes’ superiority on the grass courts. It was Paes’ day on the whole until rains came to put a dampener on the show during India’s Davis Cup tie against New Zealand on Friday. India’s non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan summed up the Indian star’s victory in simple terms: ‘‘It was a workmanlike victory. He returned serves excellently which was the key to his victory over Mark Nielsen.’’ To a query whether Paes’ performance in Davis Cup ties amazes him, Ramesh shot back humorously, saying: ‘‘I will be amazed if Paes did not keep winning.’’ (ENS) Hunt will play Bopanna first followed by the doubles match tomorrow in what should be an eventful and exhausting day. While Paes revelled in the conditions, Nielsen looked like a fish out of water. The New Zealander could hardly make a dent on Paes’ serve, who served a high percentage of first serves and rained 13 aces which doesn’t occur often in Indian tennis. The New Zealander could not get to a break point on Paes’ serve! Added to that, Paes’ return of serve was awesome. His dipping returns to the feet of Nielsen and clinical return winners rattled the New Zealander, who was outplayed by the Indian except for the second set. The way Paes started off the match, it looked as if he had come straightaway from practice. Nieslen double-faulted to lose serve in the first game. Paes broke the New Zealander again in the fifth game with an array of impressive winners, inclusive of a running forehand at full stretch. He took the set in the seventh game with a return to Nielsen’s feet, who could not control the volley. The second set was a close one. Nielsen twice bounced back from 0-40 down (2nd and 8th game) with big serving and gutsy play at the net. However, he could find a way to put Paes’ service under pressure, who was firing aces down the centre and into the corners. Paes hammered Nielsen 7-1 in the tie-break after both held serve. Winners flowed from the racquet of the Indian as the New Zealander looked dead and buried after the second set. With former Davis Cuppers Naresh Kumar, Akhtar Ali and Rabi Venkatesan watching with interest and the enthusiastic crowd egging him on, Paes raced through the third set with breaks of serve in the third and seventh game to notch up his 64th victory in Davis Cup. Another impressive aspect of Paes’ game today was his solidity. He made fewer unforced errors and capitalised on Nielsen’s weakness on grass courts. Nielsen, who is the No.1 player in New Zealand, lacked confidence on the grass courts. He was not quick to his volleys and fluffed it often.
