JAVIER SORIANO/Getty Images

Davis Cup Tennis 2019: Friday Europe Group 4 Scores and Latest Schedule

Tom Sunderland

Cyprus and Ireland will face off in the 2019 Davis Cup Europe Group 4 decider after they each finished their round-robin tournaments with clean-sweep wins and unbeaten records.

Ireland demolished Pool A runners-up Malta 3-0 and failed to give up a set in either singles or doubles encounters on Friday, while Cyprus enjoyed a similarly one-sided win over Lichtenstein.

Pool B runners-up Lichtenstein were one of three teams to finish the group stage with a 2-2 record, but their superior set win percentage meant they took second ahead of Iceland or Armenia.

Albania, meanwhile, finished last in Pool A and failed to win a single set during their campaign, finishing the round-robin with a record of 0-24. They lost without reply to Iceland in San Marino, and Pool B minnows Kosovo edged Andorra 2-1 to clinch their first win while condemning their opponents to a winless finish.

       

Friday's Results

Kosovo 2-1 Andorra

(AND) Eric Cervos Noguer bt. Genc Selita: 6-3, 6-4

(KOS) Granit Bajraliu bt. Ricardo Rodeiro-Stetson: 7-6 (4), 6-4

(KOS) Granit Bajraliu/Genc Selita bt. Eric Cervos Noguer/Guillermo Jauregui: 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4

    

Iceland 3-0 Albania

(ICE) Daniel Siddall bt. Genajd Shypheja: 6-0, 6-1

(ICE) Egill Sigurdsson bt. Elbi Mjeshtri: 6-3, 6-2

(ICE) Egill Sigurdsson/Daniel Siddall bt. Martin Muedini/Genajd Shypheja: 6-0, 6-1

    

Ireland 3-0 Malta

(IRE) Simon Carr bt. Omar Sudzuka: 6-0, 6-2

(IRE) Peter Bothwell bt. Matthew Asciak: 7-5, 6-0

(IRE) Julian Bradley/Osgar O'Hoisin bt. Matthew Cassar Torregiani/Omar Sudzuka: 6-4, 6-3

     

Cyprus 3-0 Lichtenstein

(CYP) Menelaos Efstathiou bt. Robin Forster: 6-0, 6-1

(CYP) Petros Chrysochos bt. Vital Flurin Leuch: 6-1, 6-3

(CYP) Sergis Kyratzis/Eleftherios Neos bt. Robin Forster/Christian Meier: 6-0, 6-1

     

Final Pool Standings: Win/Loss (Set Win Rate)

Pool A

1. Cyprus: 4-0 (1.00)

2. Lichtenstein: 2-2 (0.56)

3. Armenia: 2-2 (0.48)

4. Iceland: 2-2 (0.46)

5. Albania: 0-4 (0.00)

      

Pool B

1. Ireland: 4-0 (0.92)

2. Malta: 3-1 (0.54)

3. San Marino: 2-2 (0.48)

4. Kosovo: 1-3 (0.42)

5. Andorra: 0-4 (0.39)

     

Play-Offs

Cyprus vs. Ireland

Malta vs. Lichtenstein

Armenia vs. San Marino

Iceland vs. Kosovo

Albania vs. Andorra

      

Preview

Cyprus have been rampant during their singles events during this Europe Group 4 campaign, and it's largely thanks to the singles duo of Menelaos Efstathiou and Petros Chrysochos that they've excelled in San Marino.

Efstathiou, 20, and Chrysochos, 23, have each yet to drop a set in the competition and kept up that relentless pace against Lichtenstein. The former decimated Robin Forster 6-0, 6-1 before Chrysochos beat Vital Flurin Leuch 6-1, 6-3, the first time either player has lost more than two games in a Davis Cup set this year.

Ireland are certain to be a more demanding test in the first-place play-off, and they too capped off their own perfect run through the round-robin portion with two pretty routine wins in the singles.

Teenager Simon Carr, 19, eased Omar Sudzuka out of his way 6-0, 6-2, but Peter Bothwell's professional 7-5, 6-0 victory over Matthew Asciak put any lasting nerves to one side, via Tennis Ireland:

Three players changed for the doubles as Julian Bradley and Osgar O'Hoisin stepped in to take Ireland to another straight-sets win against Matthew Cassar Torregiani and Sudzuka.

Iceland made light work of Albania in Pool A and just missed out on their opportunity to fight for a higher finish in the play-offs. Egill Sigurdsson and Daniel Siddall each triumphed in their singles outings before combining for a simple 6-0, 6-1 win in doubles.

Kosovo and Andorra waged a battle between also-rans, and it was the former who flickered into relevance at the death by responding from a set down to clinch success.

Genc Selita lost his singles matchup before Granit Bajraliu notched a close-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 result against Ricardo Rodeiro-Stetson. Bajraliu was again the hero as he teamed up alongside Selita to also taste doubles victory, sealing a 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 comeback in the process.

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)