India trounce NZ, meet Uzbekistan in Round 2

Pune: India trounced New Zealand 4-1 in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I first round tie in Pune on Sunday, after Yuki Bhambri won the fifth and final reverse singles. Bhambri beat Jose Statham 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. India will next meet Uzbekistan in Round 2 of the Asia/Oceania Group in April.

This victorious match is the last of Anand Amritraj’s three-year reign as the team captain, he will be replaced by Mahesh Bhupathi for the second round tie against Uzbekistan.

Earlier in the day, Ramukumar Ramanathan routed Finn Tearney with clinical precision as India took an unassailable 3-1 lead over New Zealand. A lanky Ramkumar cruised to a 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 win in exactly two hours in windy conditions at the Shiv Chatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi.

The 22-year-old Ramkumar, who had won his singles rubber on day one, beating Jose Statham in straight sets in very impressive fashion, clinched a closely fought 51-minute first set.

Tearney's game went to pieces thereafter as his rival seized the opportunities and ran away with the second and third sets with two and three breaks of serve each to propel India into the second round for a meeting with Uzbekistan from April 7-9. Uzbekistan got past South Korea in another first round away tie.