Iranian and Kuwaiti tennis players have shared scores at the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II relegation play-offs of the 2015 Davis Cup currently under way in Tehran.
On Friday and the first day of the tournament in Tehran’s Enghelab Sport Complex, the 25-year-old Iranian sportsman Shahin Khaledan conceded a 4-6 defeat to his right- handed Kuwaiti opponent Abdullah Maqdes in the first set.
The Iranian athlete, however, managed to establish himself later on and brought the match under control. His pace and vision was a sight to behold and he played some cracking balls that found targets out of defense.
Khaledan continued to prove the case up against the 28-year-old Kuwaiti competitor as the game kept flowing, clinching the second point by 6 points to 2.
A piece of brilliance from the Iranian tennis player in the third set made it 6-0 to the visitors. Maqdes could not close out the game and Khaledan finished the final set 7-5.
Later in the day, another Iranian athlete, Mohsen Hosseinzadeh, suffered a 3-1 loss in a match played against Mohammed al-Ghareeb – a 35-year-old tennis player from Kuwait.
Hosseinzadeh led 6-2 in the first set, before succumbing 6-7, 3-6 and 4-6 in the second to final sets.
Iran’s Davis Cup team, comprising Anousha Shahgholi and Omid Souri, will take on the Kuwaiti side, which consists of Ghareeb and Maqdes, on Saturday evening.
On Sunday and the final day of the sports event, Hosseinzadeh with compete against Maqdes in an individual showdown, and Khaledan will face Ghareeb.
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's lawn tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. Iran competed in its first Davis Cup in 1962.