Their men's team were hopeful heading into their match against Egypt on the opening day of the event, but they were unable to secure a victory.

Egypt proved dominant throughout the tie, as they stormed to a 3-0 success against the hosts.

There was also a surprise result as last year's winners Tanzania fell to a 3-0 loss in their opening match against Morocco.

Ghana triumphed 3-0 against Mauritius in the other men's tie contested.

Only one women's match saw Morocco overcome Egypt 3-0.

Defending champions Egypt will begin their participation in the women's competition tomorrow.

Competition is set to continue until Sunday (February 18) on the clay courts.

This is the second of four regional qualifying competitions for the 2018 BNP World Team Cup with the United States and Argentina having already secured their spots by lifting the men's and women's titles, respectively, at the Americas event.

The World Cup is due to take place in Apeldoorn in The Netherlands from May 28 to June 3 and will be hosted by the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association.