Belarus defeat Ireland 4-1 in Davis Cup

The Belarusian national team have overpowered their Irish opponents 4-1 in Group II of the Europe/Africa zone of the Davis Cup.

Belarus’ Ilya Ivashko (world No. 770), who had not been included in the Belarus squad, won against John Morrissey (unrated) 6:4, 7:6 (8:6). The result of the match was not taken into account because Ilya Ivashko was not in the Belarusian squad from the beginning of the Belarus vs. Ireland tie. Formally Belarus suffered a defeat in that match, which made the final score 4-1. Belarus’ skipper Vladimir Volchkov, who did not have to care about the final score of the match, decided to test the 19-year-old against John Morrissey and Ilya Ivashko proved his worth.

The aggregate winner of the match became known on 1 February after the veteran of the Belarusian team Max Mirnyi, together with his young teammate Alexander Buryi, saw off the Irish duo James Cluskey/David O'Hare in a five-set thriller 6:7, 7:6, 5:7, 7:6, 6:2.

In the first match on 31 January Belarusian Dmitry Zhirmont (314) defeated Irishman Daniel Glancy (723) 6:2, 6:4, 6:2, while Yegor Gerasimov, 252nd in the world ranking, overpowered John Morrisey (unrated) 6:4, 6:1, 6:2. On 2 February Yegor Gerasimov did not leave a chance to Daniel Glancy winning 6:3, 6:3 to make the aggregate score 4-0.

In the next round Belarus will take on Moldova, who celebrated a 4-1 victory against Egypt in Chisinau on 2 February. The match will be held in Moldova on 4-6 April.