Malta beat Azerbaijan to finish fifth

Malta wrapped up their participation in the Davis Cup Euro/African Zone Group IV tournament with a 2-1 win over Azerbaijan.

Yesterday's victory ensured that Malta finished fifth, just one place short of a top-four place. Malta's bid to advance to the last four and secure promotion to a higher pool crumbled on Friday following a 2-1 defeat to San Marino in a decisive group match.

Philip Zarb Mizzi marked his Davis Cup debut with a 7-5 6-1 win over Ramin Hajiyev yesterday.

In the second singles match, Daniel Ceross battled bravely but was still unable to win the first set against Fakhraddin Shirinov. A shoulder injury forced Ceross to retire in the second set as Azerbaijan drew 1-1.

It was therefore down to the father-son combination of Gordon and Matthew Asciak to play the decisive doubles match. This proved to be a stroll for Malta's 'royal' tennis family as the Asciaks won 6-0 6-1 against Emin Agayev and Shirinov.

In yesterday's semi-final matches, Iceland and Mauritius registered 2-1 victories over Madagascar and San Marino respectively.

Today's closing programme at the Marsa Sports Club, starting at 9.30 a.m., consists of three matches - Iceland vs Mauritius (first/second place), Madagascar vs San Marino (third/fourth place) and Azerbaijan vs Uganda (sixth/seventh place).

¤ Italian player Alessia Bianchi proved too strong for Elaine Genovese, 15, in yesterday's final of the San Michel International Tournament at the Tennis Club Kordin. Bianchi clinched the European Junior Tour U-16 title with a 6-4 6-3 win. The boys' title went to Antonio Maiorano who had the better of surprise finalist Omar Giacalone, 6-1 6-3.