PH crushes Oman in Fed Cup

PINAY POWER. Team Philippines members Khim Iglupas, Anna Clarice Patrimonio, Marian Jade Capadocia, Czarina Mae Arevalo (coach) and Filipino-German Katharina Lehnert in a group photo taken at the Fed Cup competition in Bahrain. (PNA photo)

MANILA — The Philippines demolished Oman, 3-0, in the fifth to eighth play-off semifinal of the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group 2 competition at the Bahrain Tennis Federation hard courts Friday.

Marian Jade Capadocia clobbered Aisha Suleimani, 6-1, 6-0, in the first singles; Khim Iglupas downed Maryam Al Balushi, 6-2, 6-1, in the second singles; while Anna Clarice Patrimonio and Filipino-German Katharina Lehnert outclassed Suleimani and Balushi, 6-1, 6-0, in the doubles.

The Philippines is now 2-0 against Oman in their head-to-head record.

The Philippines won, 2-1, in their first-round meeting in Shenzhen, China six years ago.

In the other semifinal play-off, New Zealand won over Pakistan, 3-0.

Jade Lewis downed Mahin Qureshi, 6-1, 6-0; Erin Routliffe beat Ushna Suhail, 6-3, 6-1; while Emily Fanning and Katherine Westbury scored a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Qureshi and Sarah Mahboob Khan.

In the play-offs for ninth to 12th places, Sri Lanka defeated Lebanon, 3-0, and Kyrgyzstan prevailed over Malaysia, 2-1.

The Philippines missed the opportunity to return to Group 1 after finishing only second to Singapore in the Pool B round-robin first round on Thursday.

Tournament format calls for Pool winners to advance to the next round where Pool A faces Pool D and Pool B meets Pool C, with the winners being promoted to Group 1 next year.

Expected to meet in the promotional play-off scheduled on Saturday are Uzbekistan (A) against Indonesia (D), and Singapore (B) against Pakistan (C).

The Philippines was relegated to Group 2 after losing all four of its ties in the Group 1 competition held in Astana, Kazakhstan last year.

Patrimonio, Lehnert and Iglupas all played in the 2017 SEA Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Patrimonio, who debuted in the Fed Cup in 2011, won the silver in the women’s singles event.

Lehnert teamed up with Fil-American Denise Dy, while Iglupas was paired with Albert “AJ” Lim Jr.

This year’s team captain is Czarina Mae Arevalo, who has played 32 ties during her eight-year stint with the Fed Cup squad.

The Fed Cup is the world’s biggest annual women’s team competition, with 99 countries participating this year.