India host South Korea in Davis Cup 1st round

India will host South Korea in a Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I first round tie, from February 1-3, 2013.

In Tuesday's draw, India was seeded fourth, while Australia got top billing in the eight-team Group 1.

India retained its place in Group I after routing New Zealand 5-0 in the play-off tie in Chandigarh last month.

Led by Yuki Bhambari and Vishnu Vardhan, the team did well in the absence of its proven stars to beat the lower-ranked Kiwis.

India last played South Korea in 2006, and lost the away tie 1-4.

South Korea had suffered a crushing 0-5 defeat to Australia in Brisbane in their last outing.

India's Davis Cup non-playing captain S P Misra was pleased to see his team getting a second consecutive home tie.

"The home tie is always an advantage. Our boys always play well at home. It's a good draw for us," Misra said.

It will be interesting to see if Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman play in the tie after skipping the contest against the Kiwis. While Paes requested to be excused from the tie to play for a club in the US, Somdev had fitness issues.

The AITA had also banned Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna for Davis Cup selection till June 30, 2012, for rebelling against team selection for the London Olympics.

Bhupathi later dragged the AITA to court, which stayed the ban.