Dubai: Omar Behroozian and Hamad Abbas Al Janahi won their crucial doubles clash to edge past Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their first encounter for the Group IV Asia-Oceania Davis Cup being held in Doha.
With the scores tied 1-1 after the singles, Behroozian and Al Janahi teamed up to beat Fahad Al Sa'ad and Omar Al Thaqeb 6-2, 6-2 in the deciding doubles and start their campaign on a winning note at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in the Qatari capital.
Earlier, Al Janahi had gone down in straight sets 5-7, 0-6 to Fahad Al Sa'ad, only to see Behroozian secure a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 result against Al Thaqeb to draw level.
Monday's encounters in Pool A proved to be one-sided affairs with Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistant securing 3-0 wins against Iraq and Bahrain respectively.
The matches in Pool B were closer with Qatar being stretched by Myanmar till the hosts took the deciding doubles 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4). However, the hosts lost 1-2 to Cambodia, who now top the pool with two wins in as many days. Cambodia had opened with an emphatic 3-0 win over Singapore on the first day. Jordan also started on a winning note with a 2-1 result over Myanmar.
The 10 participating nations have been divided into two pools with the top team from each pool playing off with the runners-up. Only the two finalists will get a promotion to Group III for next year.
The UAE's next opponents will be Bahrain, followed by Iraq and Turkmenistan over the next two days.
RESULTS
Pool A: UAE bt Saudi Arabia 2-1; Turkmenistan bt Iraq 3-0; Turkmenistan bt Bahrain 3-0; Saudi Arabia bt Iraq 3-0.
Pool B: Jordan bt Myanmar 2-1; Cambodia bt Singapore 3-0; Qatar bt Myanmar 2-1; Cambodia bt Qatar 2-1.
