Egypt lost hopes of earning promotion to Group I of the Europe/Africa Zone in the Davis Cup after losing 3-2 to Finland in the semi-final of Group II at Cairo's El-Gezira Sporting Club on Saturday.

Both sides were originally tied at 1-1 on Friday after Egypt's Mohamed Safwat defeated Emil Ruusuvuori with two clear sets before his compatriot Karim Maamoun lost to Harri Heliovaara.

Finland prevailed on Saturday to reach the final.

They beat Egypt in the double contest 6-3, 6-4 but Safwat gave his team some hope when he defeated Heliovaara 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth rubber.

However, Finland had the upper hand in the final rubber to secure a win, with Ruusuvuori overcoming Maamoun 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

Egypt first competed in the Davis Cup in 1929. Their best performance was reaching the Europe/Africa Zone Group I semi-finals in 1982 and 1985.

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