Bermuda cemented their position in the Davis Cup Americas group three with a hard fought 2-1 triumph over the Dominican Republic on the final day of action at Club Internacional de Tenis in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Saturday.

Having already avoided dropping back into group four, from which they secured promotion last year, after a 3-0 win over Panama on Friday, Bermuda were impressive in their victory over the Dominican Republic.

Captain Richard “Trey” Mallory set the ball rolling for Bermuda with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Alberto Puello in an encounter that went on for an hour and 25 minutes. Daniel Phillips had an opportunity to seal the tie when he squared off against Peter Bertran in the second singles match, but Bertran thumped the Bermudian 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes to level things at 1-1.

That meant it all came down to the doubles and Mallory teamed up with Phillips to secure a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 success over Bertran and Emmanuel Munoz in a gruelling contest decided in two hours, eight minutes.

Bermuda finished third in the four-team Pool A with a 4-5 record. They lost 3-0 to Bolivia and were beaten 2-1 by Venezuela before they trounced Panama 3-0 on Friday to avoid the wooden spoon, that unpleasant honour going to the Panamanians.

In the first match against Panama, Mallory eased his way past Luis Ching 6-3, 6-0 in one hour, 36 minutes. Phillips also made light work of his opponent Luis Gomez, taking the duel 6-2, 6-1 in 52 minutes.

Gavin Manders, days after he was honoured by the ITF with a Davis Cup Commitment Award, combined with James Finnigan to win 6-4, 6-4 over Guillermo David Rodriguez Pinilla and Chad Valdes in one hour, 15 minutes.

Manders now holds the record for most Davis Cup wins for Bermuda with 33, one more than Jenson Bascome.