DOHA, QATAR: The second day of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV has been completed at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.
Jordan made their debut in their Round Robin Pool B match against Myanmar, who had been beaten by hosts Qatar the previous day. The tie between the two nations ended up being the most fiercely contested so far in the competition.
The first point was taken by Myanmar thanks to Nge Hnaung's effort against Yazan Abdelaziz Abudayeh. The first set went into a long tie break that was eventually won by Hnaung while Abudayeh recovered and took the second. The last set followed the same even pattern but Myanmar managed to take the lead with a hard-fought win 67(8) 63 46.
The second match between Jordan's Fawaz El Hourani and Phyo Min Thar also saw a very tightly contested first set in which El Hourani prevailed. The second set was an easier affair and Jordan neutralized Myanmar's early lead with a 76(4) 61 score.
Everything was left to be decided in the doubles rubber in which Yazan Abdelaziz Abudayeh and Fawaz El Hourani stepped again onto court to face the same rivals that they had faced in the singles, Thar and Hnaung. The match went into a tightly contested third set that was eventually won by the Jordanian pair with a remarkable 64 57 86 scoreline that gave them the victory in the tie 2-1.
In the other tie in Pool B, Cambodia, playing their second ever Davis Cup tie, managed to take the two first points of the single rubbers against hosts Qatar with very comprehensive victories from Pannhara Mam and Kenny Bun against Jabor Ali-Mutawa and Mousa Zayed 62 63 and 60 60 respectively. The doubles match was won by the pair Ali-Mutawa/Zayed in three sets against Pannhara Mam and Vetu Mam 26 62 75 leaving a 2-1 overall score.
Cambodia leads the table after two days in what is being a very successful debut in the competition.
In Pool A UAE beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in a tie that was decided in the doubles rubber. Fahad Al Saad put Saudi Arabia in the lead with a 75 60 victory over Hamad Abbas Janahi but Omar Awadhy restored the balance in the tie with a 62 62 victory over Omar Thagib. The deciding doubles point was taken by the UAE's pair of Awadi and Janahi against Al Saad and Al Thagib with a 62 62 score in exactly one hour.
The other tie in Pool A saw Turkmenistan continue their successful run in the Round Robin with a 3-0 victory over Iraq. Eziz Dovletov first earned his singles point with a victory over Ali Hashim 62 61 and then partnered with Jamshid Ilmuradov to get the final doubles point 64 63. The other victory for Turkmenistan was earned by Aleksandr Ernepesov with a 62 61 victory over Ahmed Abdulhasan.
Turkmenistan is the leader in Pool A and have yet to drop a single set in their first two ties.