The India vs Pakistan Davis Cup tie did not start in the best way possible for the visitors, on Saturday in Islamabad. In the first match of the encounter, where Ramkumar Ramanathan & Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi faced off, the veteran gave the Indian a scare by winning the first set, and took the proceedings to a tie-break in the second.
Eventually, the Indian did win the three-setter 6-7 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, but it didn’t look enough from a player who was once ranked 111th in the world. Both the players couldn’t break serve in the first set, as it went to the tie-break.
Come the second, the Pakistani upped the ante, and broke Ramanathan’s serve in the fifth game, to take 3-2 lead. Somehow, the Indian managed to force the set into another tie-break, and started to dominate from there on.
After pocketing the second set, Aisam ran out of steam, as Ramanthan won 6-0, to give India a 1-0 lead in the tie. This IND vs PAK Davis Cup encounter holds a lot of historical value, as it is after 60 years, that any Indian team toured Pakistan for a tie.