UAE defeated by Pacific Oceania in Davis Cup Asia-Pacific Group 3 playoff

UAE’s top tennis player Omar Behroozian hailed the efforts of his team-mates, who fought valiantly but ultimately came up short in their attempt to seal promotion to Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group III.

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Following a week of solid performances in Group IV action in Bahrain, where the Emiratis won three of their four round-robin ties, the UAE came agonisingly close to clinching a spot in next year’s Group III but were beaten 2-1 by Pacific Oceania in the promotion playoff yesterday.

Mahmoud Nader Al Balooshi lost a tight opening singles rubber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to Cyril Jacobe before Behroozian levelled the tie with a smooth 6-0, 6-4 victory over Heve Kelley, who was up 4-1 in the second set but couldn’t hold off the veteran Emirati.

In the deciding doubles match, Al Balooshi and Behroozian squandered a 5-3 lead in the opening set and saw several set points sail past them as they dropped the first set tiebreak.

In set two, Pacific’s Brett Baudinet and Daniel Llarenas served for the match at 5-3 but the Emirati pair pegged them back to 5-all. Still it wasn’t enough as the UAE were broken again and lost the doubles rubber 7-6 (6), 7-5 to see their hopes of returning to Group III disappear.

“We’re not disappointed to be honest, even though we were really close and we didn’t make it in the end,” Behroozian told Sport360°.

“I can speak for myself and say that I’m really proud of the team. Without naming names, before the tournament, we were let down by a couple of players who didn’t make themselves available for the team.

“Mahmoud, considering he doesn’t play full time anymore, did really well. The two juniors (Abdulla Ahli and Fares Janahi) did great as well, whether in the matches they took part in or during practices.

“Even though we didn’t qualify I’m really proud of the team we had here, the team captain, the coach, the spirit… The result isn’t everything. Of course we would have loved to qualify for Group III but sometimes you have to appreciate other things. There are many positive things to take from this week.”

UAE coach, Hichem Bramly, agrees with Behroozian and believes the squad gave everything they had. He is hopeful that next year, the Emiratis can finally get back to Group III.

Singapore, who beat Jordan 2-0, joined Pacific Oceania as the two nations to get promoted while Saudi Arabia and Qatar were the two sides to get relegated to Group IV.

“Next year, Group IV will almost be like a GCC tournament, because it will be made of Arab teams, with the exception of Bangladesh. So we have a good chance to move up,” said Bramly.

“I spoke to the juniors and told them how this was a good opportunity. They played doubles, Fares played singles, got some experience. They have to work harder. Omar and Mahmoud can’t fight on their own. The juniors can definitely be of bigger help next year.”

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