UAE No1 Omar Behroozian has vowed to fight until the end to keep the Emirates in Group III after their hopes of promotion to Group II were dashed on Friday with a 3-0 defeat to Vietnam.
The 31-year-old from Dubai suffered a narrow 7-6 (5), 7-5 loss to Minh-Quan Do in the second singles match to hand Vietnam an unassailable 2-0 lead.
The UAE joins Pacific Oceania as the bottom two nations in Pool B and the pair – together with the bottom two from Pool A – will form a new relegation pool to decide who remains in Group III and who gets relegated to Group IV next season.
“What’s most important is to try and stay in Group III now,” Behroozian told Sport360°.
“We started with a win and hopefully we need one more win to stay in Group III.
– Meet Gilles de Gouy, making his Davis Cup debut at 42
“We had ambition to qualify, but obviously we knew that coming from Group IV it would be difficult. The level is very different.
“So staying in Group III, I wouldn’t say it’s magnificent, but it’s acceptable. And we can go for it again next year.
“We need one more win. We know that. It’s not going to be easy. We just need a bit of luck and a push from ourselves. But I’m proud of all the players. We’re all giving our best.”
The UAE had a bad start to the day after Hamad Janahi lost 6-4, 6-4 to Hoang Thien Nguyen.
Janahi, who had won his singles match the day before against Cambodia’s Panhara Mam, raced to a 4-1 lead but the 18-year-old Vietnamese rallied to win five games in a row and take a one-set lead.
Nguyen then broke serve in the third game of the second set for a 3-1 lead and broke again for 5-2. But when Nguyen was serving for the match, Janahi broke back and held serve for 4-5.
The Vietnamese eventually sealed the deal on his sixth match point as Janahi’s return sailed long.
In the second singles, Behroozian recovered from an early break and put himself in a position to serve for the opening set at 6-5, but the Emirati veteran struggled on serve and was broken before he lost a tight tiebreak.
The second set saw a total of seven breaks, but Behroozia, hampered by an abdominal injury, eventually lost.
The day took a more disappointing turn after Mahmoud Nader Al Blooshi twisted his ankle and was taken to City Hospital, forcing the UAE to retire midway through their doubles match.
The UAE take on Oman on Saturday in the Relegation Pool round robin action as the battle to stay in Group III.
Results
Group III – Pool A
Hong Kong 2-1 Iran
Ashkan Shokoofi (IRI) def. Hei Yin Li (HK) 6-3, 6-3
Phillip King (HK) def. Shahin Khaledan (IRI) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
King/Kolev (HK) def. Shahgholi/Shokoofi (IRI) 6-2, 6-3
Malaysia 2 – 1 Oman
Mohammed Al Nabhani (OMA) def. Yew-Ming Si (MAS) 6-3, 6-2
Assri Merzuki (MAS) def. Khalid Al Nabhani (OMA) 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Merzuki/Naguib (MAS) def. Al Nabhani/Al Nabhani (OMA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Group III – Pool B
Vietnam 3-0 UAE
Thien Nguyen Hoang (VIE) def. Hamad Janahi (UAE) 6-4, 6-4
Minh-Quan Do (VIE) def. Omar Behroozian (UAE) 7-6 (5), 7-5
Le/Pham def. Janahi/Al Balooshi 6-3, 2-4 ret.
Cambodia 2-1 Pacific Oceania
Panhara Mam (CAM) def. William O’Connell (POC) 6-2, 6-1
Kenny Bun (CAM) def. Gilles de Gouy (POC) 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
Baudinet/Llarenas (POC) def. Mam/Mam (CAM) 6-1, 6-3
Promotion Pool
Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia
Relegation Pool
UAE, Pacific Oceania, Iran, Oman
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