Paes, Bopanna seal India's Davis Cup play-off berth

NEW DELHI — Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna made an ideal start to their Olympic preparations as they sealed a Davis Cup world play-off berth for India, winning the doubles rubber against South Korea in Chandigarh Saturday. 
The duo's win gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead on the grass courts of the Chandigarh Club after the team won both the singles matches of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie. 
Paes and Bopanna, who were chosen as a doubles pair by India's tennis association for the Rio Games, outplayed the Korean pair of Seong Chan-hong and Hong Chung 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. 
Bopanna, who had voiced his displeasure of "not being given a say" in choosing his Olympic partner, insisted he shared a good "on-court chemistry" with Paes. 
"Chemistry was great. If it wasn't good, we could not have got such convincing win. We did not push much and just made sure that we come out strong," said Bopanna. 
The 43-year-old Paes, who is set for his seventh Olympic participation, also enjoyed the doubles win. 
"We have won in three sets. We are playing well. It has been a great season for us. We are sharp. 
"Even if the competition was tough, we could have raised the level of our game," Paes, a winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, said. 
Earlier, India's Saketh Myneni and Ramkumar Ramanathan had won their respective singles Friday to hand India a 2-0 cushion. 
The reverse singles matches slated for Sunday now remain a mere formality as the Koreans will be playing for pride against an upbeat India.