UAE coach confident of earning promotion
National squad in key Davis Cup preliminary round encounter against Saudi Arabia
The coach of the UAE Davis Cup squad is confident the current squad is capable of earning a promotion into Group III following two wins on the trot in the last two days.
With the competition entering its third day at the Al Hussain Sport City in Amman, Jordan, the UAE has maintained an unbeaten streak so far with two victories from as many encounters. The UAE started off with a 3-0 win against Myanmar and then followed it up with an equally convincing 3-0 win against neighbours Oman. The third and final Pool A encounter coming up against Saudi Arabia on Friday.
“We should be able to put it past Saudi Arabia and top our pool,” UAE’s coach Hisham Bramly told from Amman yesterday. “Our real challenge will be on tomorrow when we will have to face the second best team [most likely Bahrain]. If we win we will be through to Group III for next season, but if we lose then it will be a situation similar to what we went through last year. Hopefully, we will avoid anything of that sort and win the semi-finals on Saturday,” Bramly hoped.
This is the second straight year for the UAE in the Asia/ Oceania Zone Group IV. Last year, the UAE failed to secure an immediate Group III return after they were edged out by Pacific Oceania in a play-off.
The UAE had a perfect 3-0 record going into the knockouts following wins over Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Oman. However, in a clash for top spot in Pool B, they were beaten 2-1 by Singapore, after which they lost to top-seeded Pacific Oceania and remain in Group IV.
The UAE first played Davis Cup in 1993 and its best performance came in 2002, when it finished third in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group III. As per the format, Pool A has four teams while there are five teams in Pool B.
The winner of Pool A will play against the runner-up from Pool B, while the Pool B winner will take on the runnerup from Pool A to decide the two sides to get a promotion to Group III for next season.
Meanwhile, for the first time from this year, the ITF will be awarding individual medals to players on teams that win promotion from zone groups as an acknowledgement of their services. While the players will get medals the national associations will receive a plaque.
Gulf News