Indian number one Leander Paes lived up to expectation and scripted an authoritative straight sets victory over New Zealand's Mark Nielsen in the opening singles to give India a 1-0 lead in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group 1 second-round tie at the South Club Lawns in Kolkata on Friday.

Taking full advantage of the home conditions, Paes beat Nielsen 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 in less than two hours.

With the home crowd egging him on, Paes was off the blocks well and broke the Kiwi in the opening game, then followed it up with two more breaks in the 5th and 7th games to clinch the first set in less than 30 minutes.

With the scorching sun and humidity troubling him, Nielsen took time to settle down and failed to put up a decent fight in the opening set. But the second saw the Kiwi raise his game several notches as his first serve percentage rose and he was more agile on the court.

Both players managed to hold on to their serves and the set rolled into tie-break where Paes quickly raced to a 3-1 lead. The Indian won the next point by wrong-footing Nielsen, then followed it up with a lightning passing shot to move ahead 5-1.

After winning the next point, Paes sealed the set as Nielsen committed an error and put a return into the net.

The third set saw the heat and humidity taking full toll of the New Zealander. He looked totally exhausted and Paes, taking full advantage, broke him in the third and seventh games to seal the victory.

"Davis Cup is something where I look forward to produce my best and I am very happy with my performance today," a relaxed Paes said immediately after the match.

He said that in the second set he faced a tough fight from the New Zealander, "but it was satisfying to finally prevail and win the match in straight sets".