When You Dig A Grave For Someone Dig Two Holes

by Savannah

Remember a few weeks ago when the United States Davis Cup tie was awarded to Austin, Andy Roddick's home town? Remember when the surface that was chosen was compared to an ice skating or hockey rink? Remember when Spain protested the surface as being illegal and the decision was made that it wasn't and that Spain could like it or lump it?



I wonder what went through the minds of the American tennis establishment when Spain, on the backs of David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez won both singles matches to take a 2-0 lead over the United States? Surely the thought was the US would regroup after winning the doubles and with what DC Captain Jim Courier said were better match-ups for the reverse singles to be played today.

Let's be clear. The surface was chosen to frustrate Rafael Nadal. In my opinion Rafa was never going to play here, win or lose at Wimbledon. In the end the choice of surface played right into the hands of Spain's very good hard court players. In the rush to make sure Rafa was humiliated the United States dug it's own grave and it will be Spain facing France in Spain in September.

The United States had best get it's head out of its ass and realize that there are men with Spanish surnames who can play hard court tennis. It is also time for the US to realize that it takes more than a big serve to defeat a good player these days.

What struck me most during today's rubber was the court knowledge of David Ferrer. He didn't come out there to try and out ball bash Mardy Fish. He came out to play tennis. And play it he did. His shot selection, use of the qualities of the court and his ability to think on court is what gave him the win. He didn't learn to play on a slab of concrete in Florida or California. He learned on the dirt of Spain. He learned HOW TO PLAY TENNIS on that dirt not how to play clay court tennis. Once you learn how to play you have a skill that once mastered and understood translates from surface to surface.

In the end it was Ted Robinson who said it best. Switzerland without Roger Federer is not in the World Group. Britain with or without Andy Murray is not in the World Group. Spain without Rafael Nadal is in the World Group. That speaks volumes about the depth of the Spanish Davis Cup team. If the United States had to resort to putting down a court that was barely legal to give itself a chance to win we're in worse shape than I thought we were.

As regular readers know I bleed red, white and blue for Davis Cup but this time I'm satisfied with my team losing. I just don't like resorting to trickery no matter who is on court or where the matches are being played. Someone called Spain's winning of the second set "outright thievery" or words to that effect. Pot, meet kettle.

Weekend Winners

Polona Hercog hoists her first ever main tour trophy as winner at Bastad. She defeated local favorite Johanna Larsson.

John Isner becomes the first top seed in a long time to win at Newport.

Roberta Vinci won her third tournament of the year at Budapest.

ITF Decision on Austin Davis Cup Surface

ITF Davis Cup Committee decision regarding RFET (Spanish Tennis Federation) appeal

The ITF’s Davis Cup Committee unanimously agreed that the surface, “Premier Court”, chosen by the United States for their quarterfinal tie against Spain, 8-10 July 2011 in Austin, Texas, complies with Rule 38 (a) of the Davis Cup Regulations for the Competition, “Surface of Courts.”

The Davis Cup Committee determined that the court surface chosen by the Americans is of the type, “Acrylic”, which is used in over 30 tour events and two Grand Slam tournaments. In the Davis Cup Regulations, Rule 38 (a) does not specify or imply a requirement for specific brands.

The Davis Cup Committee also confirmed that the ITF Classification of surfaces does not constitute any form of ITF Approval and is not a mandatory requirement of the court surface selection process for any ITF tournaments including Davis Cup.

The Davis Cup Committee also stated that the court must comply with rule 38 (b), “Court Pace Rating (CPR),” in order to ensure that the pace of the court is neither too fast nor too slow. CPR testing will be carried out by the ITF Science and Technical Department with the tie ball once the match court is laid and available for play.

The Davis Cup Committee is comprised of five members: Chairman Juan Margets of Spain, Armando Cervone of Argentina, Tom Gullikson of the United States, Geoff Pollard of Australia and Charles Trippe of Great Britain. Both Chairman Juan Margets and Tom Gullikson recused themselves from voting in this matter because of their national affiliations.

- ENDS -

Tennis Talk

by Savannah

So Eurosport posts the following article re the Spain vs United States Davis Cup tie that will take place in Austin, Texas this July.

The Spanish tennis federation has appealed to Davis Cup organisers over the surface chosen by the United States for their World Group quarter-final in July.

The surface, known as Indoor Hard Premiere, was not on the list approved by the International Tennis Federation, the sport's world governing body which runs the Davis Cup, the RFET said in a statement on its website.

The company that made the court, which the RFET named as Premier Concepts Inc., was not one of 91 ITF-approved manufacturers, it added.
"It's a court that we are not familiar with because it doesn't meet the criteria," Spain Davis Cup captain Albert Costa said in Barcelona.

"So the problem I have right now is to explain to the players what kind of court they will encounter, because even if we wanted to train on a similar one we could not install it because it is not approved."

The ITF said it had received the RFET's appeal, adding that its Davis Cup committee had been asked to consider whether the Austin surface complied with competition rules.

"The committee is in the process of considering this appeal with a decision expected later this week," the ruling body said. Tim Curry, a spokesman for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), said all questions should be referred to the ITF given that it was their rules at issue.

The article goes on to say that the surface was used this year at the SAP Open in San Jose and notes that Fernando Verdasco lost the match he played on it to Milos Raonic.

There is no disputing that fact, or the fact that the surface has been used before in Davis Cup and Fed Cup play.

The thing is the ITF has a list of 91 surfaces that are eligible to be used for DC competition. This surface is not on the list.

The rule book also states that to be eligible a surface has to have been used a total of three times on the ATP tour in the prior year. The prior year is 2010. Not 2007. Not 2009. Not 2011. 2010. At least in my universe that's what last year was.

We all know the surface a Davis Cup tie is played on is the opening salvo of the competition. Does Spain slow it's clay down if it has to play the United States? Do the South Americans? I'd wager that any country playing the United States in Davis Cup will find a clay court to play us on, the slower the better.

When the United States played Spain in North Carolina the surface was so fast it was compared to an ice skating rink. I'm sure they still make that stuff so why propose a surface that is blatantly illegal? After all there are 91 (yes I'm repeating myself) surfaces to choose from.

The arguments in favor of the choice have ranged from "Jim Courier is an honest guy" to "it's been used before". None address the rule book. The USTA is saying "talk to the ITF".

What's my beef? What's fair is fair. Either throw out the list of accepted surfaces and let the United States play on glass or deny this surface based on the rules governing Davis Cup play. The Europeans already hate the USTA so if an exemption is granted this will only add more fuel to the fire.

The decision will come down on Thursday.

An Expression of Gratitude and Friendship

I was in a really bad situation and I was very happy they supported me. That was really important for my head. If Nadal and Santoro have a bad problem in their lives, they know that they can come to me and I will do my best to help them. They were calling me, sending me messages, telling me that they believed in me 100 per cent. In difficult times, you find out who your good friends are.

LINK

The Once and Future Stars

by Savannah

It's going to be Spain vs the United States and one again the Battle Royale will take place on U.S. soil.

The Spanish team, anchored by Rafael Nadal, routed the Belgian team on its home turf in Charleroi 4-1 with Nadal playing what was essentially a dead rubber on Sunday.

The United States team, anchored by Andy Roddick was up against Chile on what else, red clay. It fell to Roddick to pull out the tie by defeating Paul Capdeville in reverse singles on Sunday. It was Roddick who took Team USA on his shoulders winning both of his singles matches. Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles making the final tally 4-1 United States.

Speculation has already begun as to where the United States will choose to play the tie scheduled for the week after Wimbledon ends in July. An on air report by Justin Gimelstob made it seem as if the choice would be Austin,Texas, Andy Roddick's home, on grass. That assertion was modified to include both San Antonio, Texas and Albany, New York.

The choice of a grass court would be interesting to say the least. Both teams have good grass court players so the surface would in effect be neutral. If grass is the ultimate choice the United States can't be accused of stacking the deck like it was when the last tie against Spain was played on a surface that may have been better suited for a hockey team.

Personally I think we're going to see a hard very fast surface no matter where the tie is played. I should mention that Albany is about 2 1/2 hours from New York City. I'm just saying.

The Weekend's Winners

I don't think anyone was rooting against Jelena Dokic yesterday. I for one have nothing against Lucie Safarova but seeing Jelena win her first title since 2002 left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I had wondered if she was serious about her return since it seemed that she would take one step forward and two steps back but in Kuala Lumpur, away from the pressure she has to feel playing in Australia or the States she was able to pull out a win. How she will do in the two big United States tournaments remains to be seen. It would be nice to see her playing Bali at the end of the year.

The other woman hoisting a trophy for the first time in awhile is Dinara Safina who along with doubles partner Galina Voskoboeva won the doubles crown in Malayasia. I'm glad to see Dinara not being too proud to work on her game by playing doubles instead of beating her head against the brick wall of major titles just now. Nice win for her.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova successfully defended her title in Monterrey, Mexico by defeating a listless Jelena Jankovic. Maybe listless isn't the right word. JJ's court sense seems to have deserted her. Her shot selection and ball placement was completely off and the match was always on Pavs' racquet. I am at a loss to explain JJ's decision to play here when she is defending her title at Indian Wells starting this week. Maybe she felt she needed to play on a hard court. Maybe they offered her enough cheese to make the trip worthwhile. Whatever the reason for playing she has certainly lowered expectations for Indian Wells. Then again that could be a good thing.

The doubles team of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova are the Monterrey doubles champions.

Davis Cup Results

Listed below are the Davis Cup Results sent out by the ITF late yesterday.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

SERBIA defeated INDIA 4-1

Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad, SRB (hard – indoors)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna (IND) 63 63 57 36 63

Somdev Devvarman (IND) d. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 75 75 76(3)

Ilija Bozoljac/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna/Somdev Devvarman (IND) 46 63 64 76(10)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 64 62 75

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. Karan Rastogi (IND) 60 61

SWEDEN defeated RUSSIA 3-2

Venue: Borashallen, Boras, SWE (hard – indoors)

Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Igor Andreev (RUS) 63 63 61

Joachim Johansson (SWE) d. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 76(4) 64

Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) d. Igor Kunitsyn/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 64 67(6) 76(6) 62

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) d. Simon Aspelin (SWE) 75 62

Igor Andreev (RUS) d. Joachim Johansson (SWE) 76(8) 64

KAZAKHSTAN defeated CZECH REPUBLIC 3-2

Venue: CZE Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoors)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 76(4) 67(3) 16 76(4) 63

Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 76(5) 63 62

Tomas Berdych/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) d. Evgeny Korolev/Yuriy Schukin (KAZ) 64 64 76(4)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 75 57 64 62

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 64 67(4) 76(8) 60

ARGENTINA defeated ROMANIA 4-1

Venue: Parque Roca, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoors)

David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Adrian Ungur (ROU) 63 62 57 64

Juan Monaco (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(5) 16 61 61

Juan Ignacio Chela/Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu/Horia Tecau (ROU) 62 76(8) 61

Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 76(3) 62

Adrian Ungur (ROU) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 64 26 63

USA defeated CHILE 4-1

Venue: Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoors)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 62 46 63 64

Paul Capdeville (CHI) d. John Isner (USA) 67(5) 67(2) 76(3) 76(5) 64

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Jorge Aguilar/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 63 63 76(4)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 36 76(2) 63 63

John Isner (USA) d. Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz (CHI) 63 67(4) 75

SPAIN defeated BELGIUM 4-1

Venue: Spiroudome, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoors)

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 64 63 61

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 62 64 62

Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 76(0) 64 63

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Olivier Rochus (BEL) 64 62

Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 67(4) 76(6) 76(3)

GERMANY defeated CROATIA 3-2

Venue: Dom Sportova, Zagreb, CRO (hard – indoors)

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Florian Mayer (GER) 46 60 46 63 61

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Ivan Dodig (CRO) 64 36 46 76(6) 64

Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivan Dodig/Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 63 36 57 63 64

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 63 76(6)

Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 64 76(3) 76(5)

FRANCE defeated AUSTRIA 3-2

Venue: Vienna Airport Hangar 3, Vienna, AUT (clay – indoors)

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 75 64 75

Gilles Simon (FRA) d. Stefan Koubek (AUT) 60 62 63

Oliver Marach/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) 64 36 63 64

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Gilles Simon (FRA) 76(7) 36 16 64 60

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Martin Fischer (AUT) 26 76(4) 63 63

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CANADA defeated MEXICO 4-1

Venue: Club Deportivo La Asuncion, Estado de Mexico, MEX (clay – outdoors)

Daniel Garza (MEX) d. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 26 46 62 63 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 62 62 61

Vasek Pospisil/Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Luis Diaz-Barriga/Miguel Angel Reyes Varela (MEX) 46 63 64 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Daniel Garza (MEX) 75 63 62

Peter Polansky (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 64 61

URUGUAY defeated COLOMBIA 3-1

Venue: Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club, Montevideo, URU (clay – outdoors)

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Alejandro Falla (COL) 26 61 62 64

Santiago Giraldo (COL) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) 62 60 62

Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Felder (URU) d. Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (COL) 16 76(6) 16 76(5) 62

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Santiago Giraldo (COL) 62 63 64

Martin Cuevas (URU) v Alejandro Falla (COL)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CHINA, P.R defeated CHINESE TAIPEI 3-2

Venue: Shanghai Xianxia Tennis Center, Shanghai, CHN (hard – indoors)

Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 57 61 76(5) 46 86

Di Wu (CHN) d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 64 36 36 75 97

Yen-Hsun Lu/Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong/Zhe Li (CHN) 75 64 67(3) 76(4)

Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) 61 62 62

Di Wu (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 63 62 26 60

JAPAN defeated PHILIPPINES 3-1

Venue: Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Lapu-Lapu City, PHI (clay – outdoors)

Tatsuma Ito (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 64 67(5) 63 67(3) 97

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Johnny Arcilla (PHI) 63 63 63

Treat Huey/Cecil Mamiit (PHI) d. Hiroki Kondo/Takao Suzuki (JPN) 61 76(5) 62

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 76(5) 62 36 63

Johnny Arcilla (PHI) v Tatsuma Ito (JPN) – NOT PLAYED

UZBEKISTAN defeated NEW ZEALAND 3-2

Venue: Sport Complex Pahlavon, Namangan, UZB (clay – indoors)

Farrukh Dustov (UZB) d. Artem Sitak (NZL) 60 63 61

Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Jose Statham (NZL) 62 63 63

Farrukh Dustov/Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Marcus Daniell/Michael Venus (NZL) 76(5) 63 64

Artem Sitak (NZL) d. Murad Inoyatov (UZB) 61 67(2) 63

Michael Venus (NZL) d. Vaja Uzakov (UZB) 63 60

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

SLOVENIA defeated FINLAND 3-2

Venue: Sportno Rekeacijski Center Tivoli, Ljubljana , SLO (clay – indoors)

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Grega Zemlja (SLO) 36 63 64 63

Blaz Kavcic (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara (FIN) 46 62 63 64

Luka Gregorc/Grega Zemlja (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 67(5) 64 64 75

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 63 64 46 64

Grega Zelmja (SLO) d. Micke Kontinen (FIN) 26 63 63 63

NETHERLANDS level with UKRAINE 2-2

Venue: Palace of Sports Lokomotiv, Kharkiv, UKR (hard – indoors)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Robin Haase (NED) 61 64 67(2) 46 62

Thiemo de Bakker (NED) d. Iliya Marchenko (UKR) 76(3) 76(6) 64

Thiemo de Bakker/Robin Haase (NED) d. Sergei Bubka/Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 76(6) 67(5) 64 76(9)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 61 64 36 67(4) 64

Iliya Marchenko (UKR) v Robin Haase (NED)

PORTUGAL defeated SLOVAK REPUBLIC 4-1

Venue: Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor, Cruz Quebrada, POR (clay – outdoors)

Frederico Gil (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 62 62 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 64 64 16 26 64

Michal Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK) d. Frederico Gil/Leonardo Tavares (POR) 63 64 16 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 64 36 64 60

Joao Sousa (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 62 41 ret.

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND

ISRAEL defeated POLAND 3-2

Venue: Canada Stadium, Ramat Hasharon, ISR (hard – outdoors)

Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Marcin Gawron (POL) 61 63 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) d. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 46 62 62 67(4) 63

Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) d. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL) 46 64 63 61

Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d. Dudi Sela (ISR) 76(5) 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) v Marcin Gawron (POL) - FORFEIT

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

PERU defeated NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 5-0

Venue: Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposicion, Lima, PER (clay – outdoors)

Ivan Miranda (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 60 60 61

Mauricio Echazu (PER) d. Alexander Blom (AHO) 62 63 75

Duilio Beretta/Sergio Galdos (PER) d. Alexander Blom/Martijn van Haasteren (AHO) 64 62 36 62

Sergio Galdos (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 61 62

Duilio Beretta (PER) d. Nick van Rosberg (AHO) 60 60

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC defeated EL SALVADOR 5-0

Venue: Maya Country Club, Santa Tecla, ESA (clay – outdoors)

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) 63 63 61

Victor Estrella (DOM) d. Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 26 76(3) 64 61

Victor Estrella/Jose R. Hernandez (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo/Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 64 64 46 64

Luis Delgado (DOM) d. Andres Weisskopff (ESA) 64 62

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Alberto Alvarado (ESA) 60 61

PARAGUAY defeated PUERTO RICO 4-1

Venue: Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PUR (hard – outdoors)

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Ricardo Gonzalez-Diaz (PUR) 62 62 64

Alex Llompart (PUR) d. Diego Galeano (PAR) 63 36 46 75 61

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia/Gustavo Ramirez (PAR) d. Chris Brandi/Alex Llompart (PUR) 46 63 61 46 75

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Alex Llompart (PUR) 63 60 64

Diego Galeano (PAR) d. Chris Brandi (PUR) 64 63

VENEZUELA level with HAITI 2-2

Venue: Centro Nacional de Tenis, Caracas, VEN (hard – outdoors)

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Luis David Martinez (VEN) 76(2) 63 36 64

Piero Luisi (VEN) d. Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI) 62 62 61

Piero Luisi/Roberto Maytin (VEN) d. Joel Allen/Olivier Sajous (HAI) 67(3) 36 76(0) 62 62

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Piero Luisi (VEN) 67(3) 64 64 06 64

Luis David Martinez (VEN) v Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

KOREA, P.R. defeated SYRIA 4-1

Venue: Changwon Municipal Tennis Courts, Changwon, KOR (hard – outdoors)

Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Marc Abdulnour (SYR) 63 61 61

Soong-Jae Cho (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 61 64 61

Soong-Jae Cho/Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Majdi Salim/Roman Radwan (SYR) 62 61 61

Marc Abdulnour (SYR) d. Suk-Young Jeong (KOR) 36 64 76(3)

Yong-Kyu Lim (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 62 62

PAKISTAN defeated HONG KONG, CHINA 3-1

Venue: Victoria Park, Hong Kong, HKG (hard – outdoors)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) d. Aisam Qureshi (PAK) 76(3) 46 67(2) 75 64

Aqeel Khan (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 75 75 64

Aqeel Khan/Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Jonathan Chu/Coenie van Wyk (HKG) 76(4) 64 64

Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 76(8) 63 76(4)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) v Aqeel Khan (PAK)

INDONESIA defeated IRAN 3-2

Venue: Shiroodi Sports Complex, Tehran, IRI (clay – indoors)

Anoosha Shahgholi (IRI) d. Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) 63 64 26 46 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Shahin Khaledan (IRI) 76(3) 61 63

Christopher Rungkat/Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) d. Anoosha Shahgholi/Omid Souri (IRI) 63 61 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Mohsen Hossein Zade (IRI) 63 63 60

Shahin Khaledan (IRI) d. Aditya Hari Sasongko (INA) 61 67(5) 63

THAILAND defeated PACIFIC OCEANIA 5-0

Venue: Hilton Tennis Club, Guam, POC (hard – outdoors)

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 60 62 63

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 63 63 60

Sonchat Ratiwatana/Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe/Leon So’onalole (POC) 64 75 62

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 64 60

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 62 62

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

GREAT BRITAIN defeated TUNISIA 4-1

Venue: Bolton Arena, Bolton, GBR (hard – indoors)

Malek Jaziri (TUN) d. Jamie Baker (GBR) 46 63 75 62

James Ward (GBR) d. Sami Ghorbel (TUN) 60 62 60

Colin Fleming/Jamie Murray (GBR) d. Slim Hamza/Malek Jaziri (TUN) 61 36 63 64

James Ward (GBR) d. Malek Jaziri (TUN) 36 63 36 63 86

Jamie Baker (GBR) d. Slim Hamza (TUN) 61 64

LUXEMBOURG defeated IRELAND 3-1

Venue: David Lloyd Riverview Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin, IRL (hard – indoors)

Conor Niland (IRL) d. Mike Vermeer (LUX) 61 60 62

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Barry King (IRL) 46 61 63 63

Laurent Bram/Gilles Muller (LUX) d. James Cluskey/James McGee (IRL) 76(4) 76(4) 64

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Conor Niland (IRL) 64 64 64

James McGee (IRL) v Mike Vermeer (LUX)

BELARUS defeated BULGARIA 4-1

Venue: Republic Olympic Training Center for Tennis, Minsk, BLR (hard – indoors)

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Todor Enev (BUL) 62 36 67(4) 62 62

Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) d. Siarhei Betau (BLR) 75 64 26 76(2)

Uladzimir Ignatik/Max Mirnyi (BLR) d. Valentin Dimov/Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 64 64

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) 36 62 61 64

Alexander Bury (BLR) d. Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 63

HUNGARY defeated CYPRUS 5-0

Venue: National Tennis Centre, Nicosia, CYP (hard – outdoors)

Adam Kellner (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean (CYP) 64 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 61 62 62

Attila Balazs/Kornel Bardoczky (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean/Christopher Koutrouzas (CYP) 61 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Sergis Kyratzis (CYP) 64 76(6)

Marton Fucsovics (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 64 63

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA defeated MOROCCO 3-2

Venue: Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech, Marrakech, MAR (clay – outdoors)

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Amer Delic (BIH) 62 76(4) 64

Aldin Setkic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 64 26 57 63 64

Amer Delic/Ismar Gorcic (BIH) d. Reda El Amrani/Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 63 62 16 64

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Aldin Setkic (BIH) 26 62 60 61

Amer Delic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 61 63 46 61

ESTONIA defeated LITHUANIA 3-2

Venue: Rocca al Mare Tennisekeskus, Tallinn, EST (hard – indoors)

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jaak Poldma (EST) 76(3) 62 63

Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) 45 ret.

Mait Kunnap/Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Richard Berankis/Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 62 63 36 63

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jurgen Zopp (EST) 16 46 64 63 119

Jaak Poldma (EST) d. Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 61 64 16 61

DENMARK defeated MONACO 3-2

Venue: Bramdrupdam Hallerne, Kolding, DEN (carpet – indoors)

Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) d. Martin Pedersen (DEN) 76(3) 46 64 26 62

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Thomas Oger (MON) 75 62 75

Thomas Kromann/Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Guillaume Couillard/Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 62 63 61

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 63 62 64

Benjamin Balleret (MON) d. Soren Wedege (DEN) 62 76(5)

LATVIA defeated GREECE 4-1

Venue: Thessaloniki Tennis Club, Thessaloniki, GRE (clay – outdoors)

Andis Juska (LAT) d. Theodoros Angelinos (GRE) 63 75 62

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 63 61 61

Andis Juska/Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Konstantinos Economidis/Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 64 63 63

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Paris Gemouchidis (GRE) 63 64

Konstantinos Economidis (GRE) d. Mikelis Libietis (LAT) 61 62