With a victory over the team of Bhutan - 3:0, the tennis team of Turkmenistan started today in the Davis Cup zonal tournament, which takes place in the city of Isa Town (Bahrain).
In the IV group of the zone of Asia and Oceania, in which our compatriots compete, 9 teams, divided into two groups, are fighting for promotion in the class.
Seeded at the draw under the first number, the national team of Turkmenistan got into group "B" along with the teams of Cambodia, Mongolia and Bhutan. Group A" consisted of: Kuwait, Singapore, Guam, Laos and Bahrain.
The winners of the groups will advance to the playoffs, the winner of which will be eligible to play in Group III of the Asia and Oceania zone next year.
In the opening match, the team of Turkmenistan, ranked 125th in the world tennis rating, did not experience big problems against the debutant of the Davis Cup - the national team of Bhutan. In the first meeting of the singles, which lasted 56 minutes, Yuriy Rogussky won in two sets against Nidup Geltschen - 6:2, 6:0. And in the second - Meilis Orazmukhamedov took over Pema Norbu in 1 hour and 24 minutes - 6:2, 6:0. In the third match, which lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes, the duet of Gurbanberdy Gurbanberdyev / Yuriy Rogussky was stronger than the pair of Tenzin Singye Dorji / Tandin Wangchuk - 6:4, 6:2.
The next opponent of the Turkmen tennis players will be the Mongolian team, which occupies the 145th place in the world tennis rating, which today lost to the Cambodian team - 0:3.
It is noteworthy that a year ago the teams of Turkmenistan and Mongolia already met on the Bahraini courts in the Davis Cup. And then the victory was celebrated by the Turkmen tennis players - 3:0. In the first meeting of the singles, Yuriy Rogussky outplayed Khatansuikh Batbayar in 1 hour and 5 minutes - 6:1, 6:1. In the second - Isa Mametkuliev needed even less - 38 minutes to win under zero from Sukhbaatar Puntsag - 6:0, 6:0. And in the third doubles match, which lasted 46 minutes, the leaders of our team gave only two games to Oyunbold Baatar and Khatansuikh Batbayar - 6:0, 6:2.
The results of the remaining meetings of the first two rounds of the Davis Cup 2022: Group A - Kuwait - Guam - 3:0, Bahrain - Singapore - 0:3, Kuwait - Laos - 3:0, Bahrain - Guam - 0:3; group "B" - Cambodia - Bhutan - 3:0.
Recall that the tennis players of Turkmenistan have been playing in the Davis Cup since 2004. In 2012, at the zonal tournament of the IV group in Doha (Qatar), they reached the playoffs for the first time, where they lost to the team of Cambodia in the fight for a ticket to the III group of the Asia and Oceania zone - 0:3. In 2013, having defeated all their rivals at the tournament in the UAE, our compatriots for the first time made their way into the group of a higher rank. In 2014, at the Davis Cup zonal tournament held in Tehran, the men's team of Turkmenistan won against the representatives of the United Arab Emirates - 2: 1 and retained its place in the III group of the Asia and Oceania zone. And the Turkmen team achieved the best result in these competitions in 2015, reaching the playoffs of the tournament of the III group of the Asia and Oceania zone in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
