Irene Country Club announced as Davis Cup venue again
Tennis fans of Pretoria will be able again to see South Africa's Davis Cup team in action in March.
It was no surprise when Tennis South Africa (TSA) announced they had opted for a high altitude venue for their forthcoming Davis Cup by BNP Euro Africa Group 2 round 1 tie vs Luxembourg.
The Irene Country Club in the City of Tshwane was once again named by TSA as the preferred venue for the tie to be played next month from 4 to 6 March, 2016.
A medium to fast hard court will be laid for the tie.
This is the first time South Africa and Luxembourg will meet in Davis Cup competition and it will be the first time newly appointed South African Davis Cup Captain, Marcos Ondruska, will lead his country.
In 2015 South Africa went up against Ireland in the Euro/Africa Relegation play-offs also staged in Centurion at the Irene Country Club where South Africa romped past Ireland 5-0 and avoided relegation to Group 1.
In that battle against Ireland Fritz Wolmarans and Tucker Vorster won a couple of tight four-setters on the opening day to give the hosts a handy 2-0 lead. Then Dean O’Brien and Ruan Roelofse combined in the doubles contest to seal the tie. Vorster and Roelofse added to Ireland’s misery, by triumphing in the Sunday reverse singles too.
Luxembourg got no joy last year when they drew Bulgaria. Bulgaria took the tie against them 5-0 meaning Luxembourg remains in group 2 for 2016. Luxembourg’s best performances in the Davis Cup competition have been reaching the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round, which it achieved in 1993, 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Irene has played host to three Davis Cup ties over the past two years. South Africa won the ties versus Monaco and Ireland but lost closely to Lithuania making it a happy hunting ground for the hosts.
Photo: Reg Caldecott
Tie Director, Clark Coetzee said that the success of hosting the Davis Cup at Irene Country Club over the past two years made the choice easy. “TSA enjoys a sound working relationship with Irene Country Club and our players have always given the club and the crowd support it attracts the thumbs up” said Coetzee.
Tickets are available at Webtickets.co.za and Pick n Pay stores.
