Leander Paes: Felt like my first win

NurSultan Veteran Leander Paes bettered his own Davis Cup record by winning his 44th doubles match this time partnering debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan as India blanked Pakistan 40 on Saturday to earn a spot in the 2020 Qualifiers Pakistani teenagers Mohammed Shoaib and Hufaiza Abdul Rehman were no match for the Indian combination of the battlehardened Paes and Jeevan who needed just 53 minutes to win 61 63Last year Paes became the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he won his 43rd match surpassing Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli during the tie against China The 46yearold had taken 56 ties for his 43rd win while Pietrangeli competed in 66 ties for his 42 victoriesThis was my 44th win but it felt like my first All my wins are special Engraving Indias name to record books is something special for me and I am passionate about it Jeevan was playing his first match and I took the weight of that pressure on my shoulders being the responsible senior partner Paes told PTIIndia players celebrate their Davis Cup win over Pakistan on SaturdayIt was about staying solid today Jeevan has a big heart he loves to play for flag I am proud to share the court with him These guys keep me young fresh and vibrant They bring out the best in me We have got a great mix of different generations and different age groups Its lot of fun to be back to playing for India again added the winner of 18 Grand Slam titlesHis record of 44 wins in 57 ties is unlikely to be broken anytime soon as except him none of the active doubles players feature in the top10 list Belarusian Max Mirnyi at number three has 36 wins but has not played on Tour since 2018 While Paes is at top of the heap in the doubles the legendary Indian stands fifth in the list of players for total number of wins with 9235 winloss record He now has 92 total wins including 48 in singles One more win will take him to fourth spot ahead of Spains Manuel Santana who has 9228 winloss recordIn the reverse singles Sumit Nagal trounced Yousaf Khalil 61 60 for his second straight win Both the sides opted not to play the dead fifth rubber The fourth rubber is played even if the outcome of the tie is decided after the first three matches but the rules permit teams to skip playing the dead fifth rubberIt was an easy win I understand they are young players need experience Today was my last match of the year and I cant complain It has been a fantastic year for me said Nagal after his win Saturdays result means India have won all the matches in a tie for the first time since February 2014 when they had blanked Chinese Taipei 50 in IndoreIndias nonplaying captain Rohit Rajpal dedicated the win to the countrys armed forcesWe discussed this amongst ourselves that we all strongly feel that we want to dedicate the win to armed forces especially to the families who lost their loved ones on the borders in protecting our families So we will dedicate this win to the Indian Army said Rajpal who had replaced Mahesh Bhpathi in captains chairPakistans top players Aisamulhaq Quershi had pulled out of the tie protesting against ITFs decision to shift the matches to a neutral venue citing security concerns in Islamabad the original venue India will now face world number two Croatia for the Qualifiers in an away tie to be held on March 67 Twentyfour nations will go headtohead in a bid to win one of 12 qualifying spots for the Davis Cup FinalsThe 12 losing nations will compete in World Group I ties in September 2020 while the winning nations will join the six nations who have already qualified for the Finals the 2019 semifinalists Canada Great Britain Russia and Spain and the 2020 wild cards France and Serbia In the third rubber Hufaiza and Shoaib began by holding serve in the opening game of the match but the Indians broke the teenagers in the third game before holding their own for a 31 leadPaes and Jeevan took control of the match with another break of serve in the fifth game Jeevan served a double fault at 3015 but the Pakistanis could not put pressure on their rivals as India zoomed to a 51 leadServing to stay in the set Shoaib was down 040 giving India three chances to close the opening set Paes and Jeevan grabbed the second The Indians had a few chances to break their rivals early in the second set but the Pakistani duo held its nerves to save them There was some fight in the second set which was locked 33 Paes and Jeevan got a break in the eighth game to take a 53 lead and the former served out the match in the nextCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates