High for Malaysia as they stay flawless in Davis Cup group stage

Back to you: Darrshan Suresh Kumar returning a shot to Iraq’s Akam Bakr at the National Tennis Centre. — Tennis Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia have secured their spot in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group IV playoffs after a clean sweep over Iraq yesterday.

The national team took their second win in the group stage after scoring a 3-0 win over Iraq in Group A at the National Tennis Centre.

Koay Hao Sheng was first to take the court against Abdullah Ali Hatem Ghrairi, and after a shaky first set, came through to win 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 to deliver the first point.

The decisive point was delivered for the hosts by Darrshan Suresh Kumar, who breezed past Akam Bakr 6-1, 6-1 and secured their spot in the playoffs tomorrow.

Daniel Prickett, who is making his debut at the Davis Cup, partnered with Naufal Siddiq Kamaruzzaman to take down Mohammed Al-Shammari-Abdullah Ali 6-3, 6-2 in the final doubles match.

Malaysia had also sealed a commanding 3-0 win against Nepal in their opening group match on Wednesday.

Darrshan was pleased to deliver the winning point for his team, saying that he felt right at home on the court compared to the opening day.

“I was struggling a little with my serving on the first day, but now it’s much more solid and I’m proud of my performance,” said Darrshan.

“The team followed the game plan well and it was crucial for us to win all the matches in the group stage.”

Malaysia will play against Kyrgyzstan today to complete the group tie, and will want to keep their winning streak going to get a better chance in the playoffs.

Malaysia are currently top in the group, with Kyrgyzstan level on points in second, followed by Iraq and Nepal, who are out of playoff contention.

In Group B, the Philippines and Qatar have secured their spots in the playoffs as well, but will take on each other to determine who will prevail. Kuwait and Pacific Oceania are also out of the running.

“We need to secure the top spot, anything can happen in the other group. Everyone wants to be promoted to Group III,” said Darrshan.

“Team spirit is high, and everyone is on the same page. We all want to win, especially after last year when we were relegated to Group IV.

“We’re not proud of it, and we want to fix that,” he added.