Davis Cup Group I: Aisam, Aqeel seal victory over South Korea

Beat South Korea 7-6, 6-4 in doubles fixture on day to gain unassailable 3-0 lead

KARACHI: Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan on Saturday sealed the win for Pakistan at the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I tie against South Korea in Islamabad as they won the crucial doubles tie to give the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Aisam and Aqeel won their singles rubbers for Pakistan on day one, and continued their winning streak at the beginning of day two as well, bringing down South Korea's Soon Woo Kwon and Yong-Kyu Lim 7-6, 6-4 in the doubles rubber.

This is the first time that Pakistan is playing in the changed format at the Davis Cup as the ties are now spread over two days instead of three and the rubbers are of best-of-three sets rather than five.

According to Aisam, the new format has been helpful for Pakistan as the rubbers are shorter and faster.

Pakistan were underdogs in the tie as they had a previous head-to-head record of two wins and five losses against South Korea.

Pakistan were promoted to Group I after defeating Thailand 3-2 in the Group II final in September and are the new comers to Group I, that includes India as the top seeds. Pakistan will now play Uzbekistan in round two in April.

Pakistan earlier qualified for Group I in 2016, but lost to China and New Zealand.