India maintained their iron grip over Uzbekistan to wrap up the reverse singles and complete a 5-0 whitewash in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 second round tie of the Davis Cup team tennis competition at the Jai Club courts in Jaipur on Sunday.
After Prakash Amritraj overcame some early resistance from Farrukh Dustov and the energy sapping heat for a 6-7, (4/7) 6-4, 6-2 victory, Harsh Mankad cleaned up Murad Inoyatov 7-5, 6-1 to complete the formalities for the hosts.
The Indians had already pocketed the tie after the winning the opening two singles on Friday and the doubles rubber on Saturday. They will now play one of the eight World Group first round losers in the play-offs in September this year.
There are good prospects that the draw could give India another home tie as they have played five of the eight teams away last time. One other country, Spain whom they have not played before, would be decided by toss while two other -- Chile and Sweden -- would be away matches.
Captain Leander Paes said India now had the nucleus that could take it to the World Group team in the coming years.
Dustov, like on the opening day, came up with a strong game and tried to make a contest of it, although the matches were of academic interest. The 19-year-old Uzbek, however, lost steam midway through and let Amritraj off the hook after taking the first set.
But, if it was his fragile mind that cracked under pressure that brought his downfall against Paes, on Sunday it was his poor fitness -- although the heat was dehydrating -- that led to his defeat.
Dustov showed signs of coming to terms with the grass courts, on which he was playing his first Davis Cup tie. There were a couple of drop shots that showed Dustov in good touch, and his strong serving helped him go neck and neck with Amritraj in the first set.
In fact, his confidence was so high that despite two double faults, he was able to avert four breakpoints in the fourth game. He went on to save three more of them in the 10th and push the set into the tie-breaker.
Amritraj on the other hand, after a good start, was beginning to make a few unforced errors. Four volley errors saw him blow up the tie-breaker and go one set down.
But the 22-year-old California resident turned around the proceedings, not without some help from his rival.
A back hand into the net saw Dustov face a double breakpoint in the fifth game, and the Uzbek conceded it with a double fault.
It was all downhill from there on for Dustov who took a medical timeout after seventh game to receive treatment for loss of fluid.
There was no hint of Dustov making an effort to put up a challenge in the decider as he dropped serve in the fifth and seventh games to concede the match.
"Naturally, matches of dead rubber ... already thinking about September play-off. The adrenalin was a bit less, but you are still representing you country and you have to have certain level of behaviour and performance," Amritraj said.
Mankad displayed tremendous motivational levels to come and play the way he did after being on the chair for the first two days.
Inoyatov opened strongly with two aces but then a double fault and a stunning service return from Mankad saw him face a breakpoint, and he put a back hand volley long to drop serve.
Mankad saw the advantage slip of his hands in the 10th game through Inoyatov's steady returns and two double faults but the Mumbaikar got back on top of his opponent with some sparkling returns in the next.
"Leander had told me on Thursday (day of the draw) that I should be mentally prepared to play on Sunday, so preparation wise I was ready," Mankad said after the match.
"As the game progressed, I was able to figure out the speed of the court and my returns got better and better. Leander also told me to take the serve from one step behind, little things like those helped."
