Nigeria came up short against Mozambique in their final round-robin tie at the Davis Cup Africa Group III in Nairobi today.
The team secured a win in the doubles rubber, but that wasn’t enough, as Mozambique had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. Bruno Nhavene got past Emmanuel Idoko 6-1, 6-4 in the first singles rubber before Franco Mata overcame Emmanuel Audu 7-5, 6-2 in the second singles rubber.
Nigeria however got the better of the Mozambicans in the doubles rubber, with Paul Etim and Idoko teaming up impressively to claim a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jaime Sigauque and Mussagy Suca.
The results so far in Pool A see Nigeria finish fourth in the pool. Nigeria will therefore take on Algeria, the third-placed team in Pool B, in the playoff tie on Saturday in order to remain in Group III.
In the playoff ties, the table toppers in Pool A will take on the second-placed team in Pool B (A1 vs. B2), while the second placed team in Pool A will face the winners of Pool B (A2 vs. B1). Also, the 3rd-placed team in Pool A will take on the 4th-placed team in Pool B (A3 vs. B4), while the 4th-placed team in Pool A lock horns with the 3rd-placed team in Pool B (A4 vs. B3).
Only two nations will advance to the World Group II play-offs in 2020. Those two nations will be the winners of the A1 vs. B2 and A2 vs. B1 play-offs.
Two nations will be relegated to Africa Zone Group IV in 2020. Those two nations will be the losers of the A3 vs. B4 and A4 vs. B3 play-offs.
