KEY POINTS:
New Zealand came within two points of winning their Asia-Oceania Fed Cup tennis tie with India yesterday before being toppled.
The three-match contest started well in Christchurch when 16-year-old Sacha Jones beat the higher ranked Shikha Uberoi 7-6 (5), 6-3 after being down 0-4 in the first set.
Leanne Baker then lost her singles match with Sunitha Rao.
At 4-4 in the first set, Baker had her opportunities to come back into the match and go ahead but couldn't convert, eventually losing the set 6-4 and then 6-2 in the second.
With the doubles to decide the contest, captain David Lewis opted for Dianne Hollands to partner Baker in the cold weather at Wilding Park.
Baker has a WTA doubles ranking of 117 with Hollands yet to register a ranking. As for their opponents, Uberoi sits at 95 and Rao at 149.
The New Zealanders took the first set 6-2 and were two points away from the match and the tie victory at 5-4 ahead with Uberoi serving at 15-30 in the second set.
But the Indian duo fought back and forced a tiebreak which they won 7-1.
Baker and Hollands still had the third set remaining but appeared deflated as the Indians stepped up and played the more aggressive game, winning the final set 6-1.
"In the doubles, it was just a matter of taking those couple of points," Lewis said. "It's the same in any tight matches - couple of points and missed chances which make the difference."
He said Jones played fantastic tennis in her singles and put in a great effort to start the day but Baker had never quite got into her singles match.
New Zealand take on Taiwan today and only have a mathematical chance of making the final against the winner of Group A.
Taiwan have Su-Wei Hsieh with a ranking at 117 and Chin-Wei Chan at 160. Baker is ranked 270 and Jones 557.
In other matches, Thailand had a 2-1 victory over Singapore to be equal top of Group A with Uzbekistan, who beat Korea 2-1. Taiwan easily beat Jordan 3-0, losing only one game in the process.
- NZPA