SQUAD NOW NEEDS TO DEFEAT SYRIA TODAY

he UAE earned their first win after five days when they fought their way past Turkmenistan 2-1 in their Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group III encounter in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Having lost their previous matches by identical 1-2 margins against Qatar, Lebanon and Malaysia, the UAE had to win yesterday’s encounter against Turkmenistan to earn the right to play the last-placed team from Pool A.

Young Fahad Al Janahi was no match for Isa Mammetgulyyev as he lost 0-6, 2-6 in just 65 minutes. Once again, Omar Bahroozian — the mainstay of the UAE Davis Cup squad for more than two decades now — brought them back on level terms when he won 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 16 minutes against Georgiy Pochay.

In the deciding doubles, Bahroozian teamed up with Fahad Abbas Al Janahi to win 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-4 against Aleksandr Ernepeson and Mammetgulyyev in nearly two and a half hours on court.

“The main focus now before us is to get the players ready for tomorrow [Saturday]. The heat has been at an all-time high and we have struggled. But our players have performed when they were really required to do so,” UAE coach Hichem Bramly told Gulf News from Colombo.

Gruelling schedule

“The schedule is gruelling and much of the attention is on being fit throughout the week. I think we have done a good job during the one month we’ve spent training in Paris. It is now a question of one more day, one more match and we can stay back in Group III for another year at least,” he added.

All four teams from Pool A, including the UAE’s opponents for the relegation play-off Syria, got an additional off day due to the format of the competition. “It is not exactly in our favour that we play two of our most important matches on successive days.

“But then, that is the format and those are (the) rules of the competition. Tomorrow is perhaps the most important day for the squad and we have a good feeling that we can ride the confidence wave following today’s win against Turkmenistan,” Bramly noted.

Though better rested, Syria is at the competition with only three players after Hazem Naw did not travel to Colombo. Much of the work will be on Kareem Allaf, formerly based in the UAE but now studying in the US. “Our team is peaking at the right time, and the win against Turkmenistan has given us a great feel. We hope we can ride this and win against Syria and retain our place in Group III till our younger players mature even more,” he added.

UAE coach