MUSCAT: There seems to be no stopping Oman as they easily defeated Kyrgzstan 3-0 to make it three in a row in the 2018 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group IV competition at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex on Wednesday. As in their previous ties against Bangladesh and Iraq, which also resulted in 3-0 wins, it was their star player Mohammed al Nabhani who began with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 win in the first singles rubber against Kirill Kistanov. In the second singles, Abdullah al Barwani also scored a straight sets 6-2, 6-2 victory over Evgeniy Babak. With the victory already achieved, Oman captain Siddiq al Hashmi gave Muneer al Rawahi an opportunity to play his first Davis Cup match in the doubles rubber.
Muneer combined well with Mohammed al Nabhani to defeat Evgeniy Babak and Georgy Kotlyarevsky 6-4, 6-0 to make it 3-0.
Oman are on top of Pool A with three wins followed by the UAE who, after their 3-0 win over Myanmar, are in second place. UAE also won all three ties but are in second place as they lost one rubber.
Oman will play Myanmar, while the UAE take on Iraq on Thursday.
Siddiq al Hashmi said: “I am really happy with today’s victories. After a long and tough outing against Iraq yesterday, I should say we had a relatively easy day out there. Though I should add the matches were not easy as our players had to give their best in all three rubbers. Definitely not easy but a smooth day.”
“I am also happy how Muneer al Rawahi played in his Davis Cup debut match. He played well along with Mohammed al Nabhani in the doubles. I am sure Muneer will be thrilled with his first Davis Cup match and the experience will give him a boost in his future matches.”
UAE also recorded their third victory in a row beating Myanmar 3-0 but after overcoming a good fight from Myanmar.
In Pool B, Singapore won their third tie in a row defeating Mongolia 3-0.
Singapore won all their matches easily.
Singapore are the only undefeated team in Pool B and they are on top ahead of Bahrain, who defeated Tajikistan 3-0 for their second win.
Bahrain have not lost a single game against Tajikistan winning all three rubbers with 6-0, 6-0 scorelines.
Results
Pool A
Oman bt Kyrgyzstan 3-0
Mohammed al Nabhani bt Kirill Kistanov 6-1, 6-1; Abdullah al Barwani bt Evgeniy Babak 6-2, 6-2; Mohammed al Nabhani/Muneer al Rawahi bt Evgeniy Babak/Georgy Kotlyarevsky 6-4, 6-0
UAE bt Myanmar 3-0
Abdulrahman al Janahi bt Aung Kyaw Naing 6-1, 6-2; Fahad Janahi bt Aung Myo Thant 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Abdulrahman al Janahi/Fares al Janahi bt Aung Kyaw Naing/Tin Myo Wai 6-0, 6-3
Pool B
Bahrain bt Tajikistan 3-0
Ali Dawani Ali bt Firuz Mukhidinov 6-0, 6-0; Yusuf Qaed bt Firdavs Odinaev 6-0, 6-0; Hasan Abdulnabi/Ali Dawani bt Azamat Mukhudinov/Firdavs Odinaev 6-0, 6-0
Singapore bt Mongolia 3-0
Roy Hobbs bt Baatar Oyunbat 6-2, 6-1; Shaheed Alam bt Munkhbaatar Badrakh 6-0, 6-1; Yuan-Xiong Hui/Hao Yuan Ng bt Tamir Ankhbayar/Temuugei Enkhsaikhan 6-1, 6-0
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