Paes-Ebden in quarters; Gunneswaran loses

Dubai - Paes has been included in the five-member squad to play Croatia in Zagreb on March 6 and 7, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced on Tuesday.

Indian legend Leander Paes marked his inclusion in the Davis Cup squad to face Croatia by winning his first round doubles fixture in the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old Paes, who has had a stellar career, winning eight doubles and 10 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden shocked second seeds and Australian Open semifinalists Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek.
The Indo-Australian pair, who were runners-up in the ATP Challenger in Bengaluru, prior to arriving here, prevailed 6-4, 6-3 in 67 minutes on Court 2 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, to book their spot in the quarterfinals. The duo were handed a wildcard for the tournament.
Paes, who has won twice in Dubai in 1998 and 2003 was runner-up in 2004, 2010 and 2018, has said that this season would be his swansong.
Paes had won the French Open thrice in 1999, 2001 and 2009 and the US Open in 2006, 2009 and 2013. He won at Wimbledon in 1999 and also lifted the Australian Open in 2012.
It was a mixed day though for India as wildcard Prajneesh Gunneswaran went down to qualifier Dennis Novak of Austria 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 17 minutes on Court 1.
Gunneswaran, who too is in the Davis Cup squad, had qualified for last month's Australian Open, and had reached the final in China as well as three semifinals.
Meanwhile, Paes was included in the five-member squad to play Croatia in Zagreb on March 6 and 7, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced on Tuesday. 
Sumit Nagal, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan will play the singles, Paes and Rohan Bopanna will do duty in the doubles. Divij Sharan will be the reserve member. 
Croatia are the top-seeded team in the 24-team Qualifiers.
The 12 winners will qualify for the Davis Cup Finals while the losing sides will be placed in the World Group I.
james@khaleejtimes.com