Morocco, Botswana, and Kenya will battle it out for the top spot at the Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III tournament after completion of the first round of matches on Wednesday.
Namibia, meanwhile, managed to avoid the wooden spoon position in Group A after beating Burundi in their final match and will now play out for positions seven to nine at the 12-nation tournament.
Morocco finished on top of Group A after winning all three their encounters without dropping a set. They beat Namibia 3-0, Burundi 3-0, and Madagascar 3-0, winning 18 sets and conceding none, while they also won 108 games and conceded only 22.
Madagascar narrowly beat Namibia to second place after winning two ties and losing one, winning five matches and losing four, and winning 10 sets and losing nine. Namibia came third with one victory and two defeats, winning four matches and losing five, and winning nine sets and losing 10.
Burundi finished bottom of the group with three losses, losing all nine of their matches and all 18 sets.
Namibia narrowly lost 2-1 to Madagascar on Tuesday but responded in great fashion as they thumped Burundi 3-1 the next day, winning 36 games and losing only two.
Kerstin Gressmann beat Ange Ishimwe 6-0, 6-0, and Liniques Theron beat Safi Hategekimana 6-1, 6-0 in the singles, while Lisa Yssel and Joanivia Bezuidenhout beat Hategekimana and Yusra Irakoze 6-1, 6-0 in the doubles.
Yesterday, Namibia got off to a winning start in the seventh to ninth positional play-offs after taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead against Ghana.
The 16-year-old Mari van Schalkwyk showed great resolve to beat Sisu-Makena Tomegah 6-3, 7-5 in a tough encounter, while Gressmann thumped Precious Nununa Okoh 6-0, 6-0.
Botswana finished on top of Group B after winning all three of their encounters, winning nine matches and losing none, and winning 18 sets and conceding one. Nigeria came second with two victories and one defeat, Ghana came third with one victory and two defeats, and Uganda came last with three defeats.
Kenya won Group C after winning all three of their ties, winning eight matches and losing one, and winning 17 sets and losing two. Zimbabwe came second with two wins and one loss, Tunisia came third with one win and two losses, and Algeria came fourth after losing all their matches.
The three group winners, Morocco, Botswana, and Kenya, have now progressed to the second round first to third place play-offs, with the overall winner to gain promotion to the Europe/Africa Group II next year.
Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Nigeria are battling it out in the fourth to sixth place play-offs; Namibia, Tunisia and Ghana are in action in the seventh to ninth place play-offs; and Uganda, Burundi and Algeria are competing in the 10th to 12th place play-offs.
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