Qatar's Rashed Nawaf and Mashari Nawaf in action.
Doha: Hosts Qatar concluded their FIP World Cup group campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Germany in their third tie at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.
Despite a spirited performance from Asian Games gold medallists Rashed Nawaf and Mashari Nawaf, who secured Qatar’s only victory, the hosts suffered their third consecutive defeat.
Germany took the opening match as A. Reca and M. Wunner defeated Rayyan Aljufairi and Essa Alharrasi 6-1, 6-1. Qatar levelled the tie through the Nawaf brothers, who recovered from losing the first set 2-6 to beat J. Lindmeyer and B. Fitzon 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. However, C. Boehnke and N. Merten secured Germany’s victory with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hassan Adel Waly and Mohammed Saadon Al-Kuwari.
Portugal topped Group C with a 2-1 victory over Chile, while Spain, runners-up in the previous men’s edition, maintained their winning run in Group B with a 3-0 win over the UAE. . Juan Lebron and Javier Leal opened with a 6-0, 6-1 win over A. Al Janahi and R. Walid Kamal, before Francisco Navarro and Juan Sanz defeated F. Al Janahi and S. Icardo 6-0, 6-2 to seal the tie. Miguel Yanguas and J. Nieto completed the clean sweep with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over M. Al Janahi and A. Alabdulla.
Italy edged Brazil 2-1 in Group D, with A. Montiel Caruso and F. Abbate, and A. Patinotis and G. Graziotti securing the wins before Brazil claimed the final match through S. Palma Flores and J. C. Julianoti.
On the women’s side, defending champions Spain and last edition’s runners up Argentina completed unbeaten group-stage campaigns.
Spain defeated Brazil 3-0 to top Group A, while Argentina beat France by the same margin to finish first in Group B.
Italy also completed a perfect Group C campaign with a 3-0 win over Sweden, while the Netherlands edged Portugal 2-1 to claim Group D honours.
The women’s quarter-finals will see Spain face Sweden, the Netherlands take on France, Argentina meet Portugal and Italy play Brazil.
The tournament, featuring 16 men’s and 16 women’s national teams, continues with the knockout stage and classification ties today.
