Here&rsquo;s some more sad news for the already disheartened Indian tennis fan following the country&rsquo;s 0-2 showing on Day One of the Davis Cup clash against South Korea in New Delhi yesterday. <img alt="Leander Paes" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/feb/Paes.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 339px;" /> India tennis ace Leander Paes during the Davis Cup draw in New Delhi on Thursday. Pic/AFP Those expecting veteran Leander Paes, who features in today&rsquo;s doubles rubber, to bring some cheer amidst the pall of gloom at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association courts, could face further disappointment.u00a0 The six-time Olympian and one of the greatest players in the history of the Davis Cup, Paes believes the visitors will have the upper hand today. &ldquo;The Koreans are 2-0 up and they will be on fire today. They will come hard at us and myself and Purav (Raja) will have to play really well to beat them. It will be a very tough match. Nothing can be taken for granted,&rdquo; Paes told MiD DAY yesterday. <img alt="Vijayant Malik " src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/feb/Vijayant.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 227px;" /> Double blow: India&rsquo;s Vijayant Malik (left) and Virali-Murugesan Ranjeet during their Davis Cup singles matches against South Korea&rsquo;s Jeong Suk-Young and Cho Min-Hyeok respectively in New Delhi yesterday. Malik retired due to cramps with the score reading 4-6, 5-7, 0-3 against him after Ranjeet went down rather tamely 1-6, 0-6, 1-6 earlier in the day. Veteran Leander Paes will team up with Purav Raja for the doubles rubber today. Pics/AFP India&rsquo;s World No 511 Ranjeet Virali-Murugesan yesterday suffered an embarrassing 1-6, 0-6, 1-6 defeat to South Korean Cho Min-Hyeok. Thereafter, No 537 Vijayant Malik retired with cramps with the score reading 4-6, 5-7, 0-3 against Jeong Suk-Young to leave the hosts 0-2 down in the five-match three-day encounter. Paes is the only established player in this Davis Cup outfit, after a Somdev Devvarman-led rebellion against the All India Tennis Association has seen almost all of India&rsquo;s top players opt out the ongoing tie. Paes however, defended his two singles teammates. &ldquo;The (court) surface is really slow and that&rsquo;s working against us. The Koreans on the other hand, are very fit. Almost every point yesterday came after 19 or 20-shot rallies. The Koreans are simply working the ball around, tiring out the opponent, and the slow surface is helping them do that,&rdquo; added the 39-year-old doubles specialist. However, this does not mean the Indians won&rsquo;t fight it out to try and reduce the deficit today. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll give it our best. The slow surface will come back to haunt us, but hopefully the end result will brighten up the mood in our camp right now,&rdquo; Paes signed off.u00a0

  Ranjeet routed, Malik retires hurt

India veteran blames slow court for singles defeats suffered by VM Ranjeet & Vijayant Malik

Slow surface led to India's downfall, says Leander Paes

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / Slow surface led to India's downfall, says Leander Paes

Slow surface led to India's downfall, says Leander Paes

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