Captain Leander Paes led India to a 3-2 win over New Zealand in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 first round tennis today.Paes beat Simon Rea in four sets in the second reverse singles. He beat Rea 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 at the Southland Stadium. Paes had won his opening singles against New Zealand No 1 Mark Nielsen on Friday and took the doubles on Saturday with Mahesh Bhupathi. Paes is on a comeback after undergoing surgery in Florida last August for a nonmalignant brain lesion. India entered the final day with a 2-1 lead but found themselves under pressure when Nielsen won the first reverse singles 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 over newcomer Vishal Punna. Paes decided to nominate Punna after Indian No 1 Harsh Mankad struggled on the fast court surface in the opening singles. Under greater pressure when he quickly conceded the first set to Rae, Paes ground out a vital service break in the second, then swept through the last two sets as Rae faltered. India will play the winner of the Japan-Indonesia match at Jakarta in the second round of the Asia-Oceania zone. (AP)
Davis Cup: India beat NZ 3-2
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