The first day of action of the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone Group 2 matches was completed on the 6th of March. A total of four ties took place in four locations yielding the following results.
Sri Lanka vs Philippines
The matches were played at the Valle Verde club in the Philippines on an indoor clay court surface.
The home team raced off to a pivotal two match to nil lead as they secured wins in both singles matches. The first singles was contested by Patrick John Tierro of the Philippines and Sri Lankas star player Harshana Godamanna. Godamanna got the better of his opponent in their last meeting and looked in fine form to repeat the feat when he found himself two sets to the good. However Tierro fought back in order to win the next two sets and the decisive final set leading to a score line of 5-7 3-6 6-4 6-0 6-3. The second singles was a breeze for the home side as the powerful Gonzales defeated the Lankan youngster Sharmal Dissanayake 6-3 6-2 6-1.
Chinese Taipei vs Lebanon
Chinese Taipei took on the Lebanese team who had completed the tough ask of achieving promotion from group 3. The tie was played at the Kaohsiung Yangming Tennis Courts on a hard court surface.
It was a rude awakening for the Lebanese side who were taken apart by their far superior opponents. Yen Lu dropped only a single game to win 6-0 6-0 6-1 against Ibrahim Chahine while his team mate Jui Hung defeated Karim Alayli 6-0 6-1 6-1.
Iran vs Indonesia
It was a similar story as the one above when Iran took on the talented Indonesian side at the Bukit Asam Tennis Courts in Indonesia.
The home side were in no mood to let the thoughts of an upset enter anyone’s mind as they won both the days matches with ease. Christopher Rungkat beat Shahin Khaledan 6-2 6-1 6-0 and Sunu Trijati beat Anoosha Shahgholi 6-3 6-1 6-0.
Pakistan vs Kuwait
The tie between the two teams is being played in Sri Lanka at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association on a clay court surface.
The match up between Pakistan and Kuwait had potential to be the closest out of the four and it lived up to its reputation as both teams won a match apiece on the opening day of action. Pakistan’s most experienced and undoubtedly talented player Aisam Qureshi got them off to a cracker start as he made easy work of Naser Al Obaidly 6-1 6-0 6-2. The next match witnessed the experience of the Kuwait side as Mohammed Ghareeb stepped upto take on the equally experienced Aqeel Khan. Ghareeb who has been an inspiration for his team over the years delivered as expected securing a 6-4 6-1 6-1 victory over his opponent.
The second days action is set to take place on the 7th of March and will feature doubles action from all the ties. Wins for Philippines, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia would guarantee them qualification into the next round where as a win for either Pakistan or Kuwait will provide the victorious side an important edge ahead of the final day of play.
