Vladimir Ignatik has brought a pre-schedule win to the Belarusian team, defeating Radu Albot — 7:5, 7:6, 6:1. Nevertheless, the Belarusians celebrated their victory even earlier — on Saturday — when Max Mirny (one of the world’s strongest tennis players) and Alexander Bury (much improved recently) smashed Andrey Gorban and Maxim Dubarenko.
On the first day of the competition, Davis Cup Belarusian debutant Dmitry Zhirmont failed to defeat Albot — 7:6, 5:7, 4:6, 2:6. The match between Albot and Ignatik proved complex. It was Vladimir’s 10th match in the career as a Belarusian national team member. Radu Albot, in turn, is probably the most progressive player on the Moldovan squad. Despite his age, he was playing for the 18th time for his team. It was clear that each was determined to claim victory, but Ignatik demonstrated the strongest character.
The final match — played by Dmitry Zhirmont and Roman Borvanov (both seeded second on their teams) — was just a formality. Instead of the previously announced Borvanov, Andrey Gorban appeared on court. As a result, Zhirmont defeated his rival in three sets — 2:6, 6:4, 6:4, bringing Belarus the victory: 4:1.
Before the match, Belarus was ranked 51st in the Davis Cup ratings, while Moldova was 77th. The teams have never met in the past. Belarus shall next play Bosnia and Herzegovina, in early April.
