From rxpgnews.com
Paes' rescue act saves India from Davis Cup relegation
By IANS,
Apr 8, 2007 - 8:06:54 PM
New Delhi, April 8 - Leander Paes defeated Dmitriy Makeyev in the deciding singles as the Indian saved relegation scare by defeating Kazakhstan 3-2 in the Asia Oceania Group I relegation play-off tie at Almaty in Kazakhstan Sunday.
Paes, whose last singles match was against Pakistan last year, replaced 20-year-old Karan Rastogi in the second reverse singles and beat Makeyev 6-7 -, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, according to information received here.
Kazakhstan's top player Alexei Kedryuk kept the tie alive as he beat Rohan Bopanna 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4. Bopanna, who staged a remarkable recovery after being two sets down, twisted his ankle during the fifth set as Kedryuk levelled the tie.
After the teams had shared honours on Day I, Paes-Bopanna won the doubles easily to give India a crucial lead on the second day.
Paes picked himself over Rastogi, who made his Davis Cup debut in the previous tie against Uzbekistan, for the deciding rubber.
In the decider, Paes lost the first set in tiebreak before stamping his class by taking the next three and enabled India to stay in Group I.
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