Cyprus impressed today at the beach tennis event ©Getty Images

Cyprus became the first team through to the second round of the Beach Tennis World Team Championships in Moscow today.

The European nation finished 20th in 2017 but were determined to improve at the Russian capital's National Tennis Centre.

They won the opening rubber against South African wildcards before losing the men's match.

Cyprus stood firm, however, to seal a 2-1 win.

Latvia also enjoyed a tough 2-1 victory over Chile today.

Action will continue tomorrow.