The UAE's Davis Cup team did not have the best of days as they succumbed first to Malaysia in a rain-interrupted tie and then caved in to Lebanon on the second day of the 2011 Asia/Oceania Zone Group III Davis Cup encounter being played in Sri Lanka.

The UAE's top player Omar Behroozian had given his team an outside chance after drawing level 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 win against Malaysia's Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam at the end of the first day on Wednesday. In the delayed doubles tie, Hamad Abbas Al Janahi and Behroozian looked out of sorts as they went down 6-2, 6-2 against Ahmad Deedat Abdul Razak and Mohammad Nazim Khan of Malaysia.

Not their day

"It was simply not their day," observed UAE's playing captain Mahmoud Khalifa about the Malaysia tie.

In yesterday's match, the UAE was up against an experienced Lebanon who went on to take both the singles and the tie to top Pool B with two wins. On the first day, Lebanon had secured a 2-1 win against Oman.

With nothing much to lose, the UAE fielded their juniors against Lebanon in an attempt to rest Beh-roozian and Al Janahi for today's crucial tie against neighbours Oman.

Karim Alayli secured a 6-1, 6-1 win against Faisal Bastaki to give Lebanon a 1-0 lead, while Bassam Beidas accounted for Khalid Al Hassaini 6-0, 6-2 to give the Lebanese an unbeaten 2-0 lead with only the doubles in hand.

"It's been a tough two days of competition and we had to take necessary measures to ensure both our best players [Behroozian and Al Janahi] get adequate rest before we take on Oman," Khalifa said.

"From now on there is going to be no turning back for us. We had our chances against Malaysia, but we did not take these," he added.

Meanwhile, incessant rains on the island have forced organisers to move the remainder of the Davis Cup matches to hard surface instead of clay.

"Adjusting is always going to be a problem, but we will have to see how best we can handle this aspect after our players spent three weeks in France adjusting to playing on clay," the UAE skipper related.

RESULTS

Pool A: Sri Lanka bt Vietnam 3-0; Kuwait bt Myanmar 3-0.

Pool B: Malaysia bt UAE 2-1: Yew-Ming Sib t Hamad Abbas Al Janahi 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Omar Behroozian bt Ariez Elyaas Deen Heshaam 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2; Ahmad Deedat Abdul Razak/Mohammad Khan bt Omar Behroozian/Hamad Abbas Al Janahi 6-2, 6-2.

Lebanon bt Oman 2-1: Karim Alayli bt Mohammad Al Nabhani 6-1, 7-5; Bassam Beidas bt Khalid Al Nabhani 6-2, 6-1; Mohammad Al Nabhani/Khalid Al Nabhani bt Beidas/Patrick Chucri 6-7 (5), 1-2 (retd.). - GulfNews.com