The UAE suffered the agony of relegation after they lost their in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group III playoff 2-1 against Turkmenistan in Tehran on Saturday.
Fighting to remain in Group III, the Emiratis enjoyed a good start when Hamad Janahi rallied back to beat Georgiy Pochay 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, before UAE No1 Omar Behroozian then fell to Aleksandr Ernepesov 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Janahi and Behroozian teamed up in the decisive doubles rubber and had six set points in the opening set against Pochay and Ernepesov but ended up losing the match and the relegation tie 7-6, 6-4.
“We were a bit unlucky. Hamad won his singles match 6-2 in the final set and I lost mine 6-1 in the final set. So both matches were really tight,” Behroozian told Sport360.
“We had six set points in the first set of the doubles and we knew the opening set was crucial because all four of us on the court had already played singles, but we knew fatigue would catch up with us.
"But credit to them, they played really on those set points.”
The defeat means the UAE will be playing in Group IV next season after spending the past two years in Group III.
Behroozian has been representing the UAE in Davis Cup since 1996 and has taken part in over 70 ties.
The 32-year-old, who briefly dabbled with retirement in 2012, says he is keen on continuing to play on next season but hopes the younger UAE generation – like Abdulrahman Janahi and Soud Al Ali – can step up to help share the Davis Cup duties next year.
“It’s normal to be disappointed, but we want to bounce back next year, there’s no doubt about that,” said Behroozian. “Secondly, sometimes disappointment and losses in sport are a good thing. Sometimes losing makes people act more. There’s always a silver lining.
“At the end of the day we deserved to get relegated this year because we felt the other teams for one reason or another were more accustomed to the conditions here than we were.
“We almost pulled it off but overall in the tournament they deserved it more than us. We have to accept it and keep working hard.
“I’m not going stop anytime soon," he added. "I’m really enjoying it. In Davis Cup, there’s still a long way to go. I think I had a very good year this year and I’m looking forward to having another good one."
