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Published on February 9, 2008

Danai Udomchoke got Thailand off to a flying start thrashing Alexey Kerdyuk in straight sets 7-6 (10/8) 6-1 7-5, before Kazakh No 1 Syrym Abdukhalikov leveled the tie for his country, beating Weerapat Doakmaiklee 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7/5).

"The first set was quite close and I managed to save a set point. I'm happy to win the first point for Thailand,'' said Danai, No 189 in the world.

Today, Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana will play Kerdyuk and Abdukhalikov in the crucial doubles.

"We need to win this to lead 2-1 and hopefully Danai will grab the third point for the victory. We are a bit under pressure as it's quite important,'' Sonchat said.

"Kazakhstan will look to play an aggressive baseline game. We will try to cut short the rallies with our net game,'' he said.

The Nation