By IANS
New Delhi : Rohan Bopanna bested Farukkh Dustov in straight sets to give India a 1-0 lead in their crucial Asia-Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan here Friday.
Boppana showed no signs of gloom in the chilly conditions at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) courts to defeat the second best Uzbek player 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.
The 288th ranked Indian seized the initiative early in the match when he broke Dustov in the sixth game of the first set to surge ahead 4-2. From then onwards, Bopanna played solid tennis and held his serve to pocket the set 6-3.
Dustov looked out of sorts throughout as he committed innumerable unforced errors that eventually led to his downfall. At the other end, Bopanna was meticulous with his serves and volleys.
It was the same scenario in the second set as Boppanna again broke the 6 feet 5 inches tall Uzbek’s serve in the fifth game to lead 3-2. The Indian then had two break points, but wasted the first and capitalized on the next.
Bopanna was solid with his serve throughout the game as he fired seven aces compared to his opponents’ four. However, he also committed two double faults.
Dustov, who prefers hard courts, had no clue to Bopanna’s meticulous game on grass as the Indian raced through the third set at 6-1.
A feature of note of Bopanna’s game was that he was at ease with his serves and committed very few unforced errors throughout the match.