SA Davis Cup team strengthened for important tie in Centurion
Two of the South African Davis Cup team's stalwarts and, apart from Lloyd Harris, the country's two top-ranked men's tennis players, will be back in the team this coming weekend when they will try to save South Africa's place in Group II of this international team tournament at the Irene Country Club in Centurion.
The Renault South Africa Davis Cup team will be given a boost this coming weekend, with experienced players Philip Henning and Kris van Wyk returning to the national side for the World Group II playoff tie against Montenegro, to be played at Irene Country Club.
Henning (currently number 322 in the ATP rankings) and Van Wyk (number 756), who both missed the national team’s last tie against Morocco at Groenkloof Tennis Club in September last year due to injuries, have been included in a six-member squad for the clash against Montenegro.
The most experienced member of the team, Henning, has won 13 of the 19 matches he has played in 11 Davis Cup ties since 2018, and the 25-year-old player will lead the side.
He will be joined by 29-year-old Van Wyk, as well as 24-year-old Alec Beckley, 24-year-old Thando Longwe-Smit and 31-year-old Marc van der Merwe, who have retained their places after forming part of the squad that lost 4-1 in a hard-fought battle against Morocco.
In addition, 18-year-old Simphiwe Ngwenya has been called up to the national side as a hitting partner after winning the u.18 boys title at the TSA Junior Masters in Cape Town last year.
Photo: Tennis SA
Renault SA Davis Cup captain Pietie Norval is excited about the strengthening of his team and expressed his satisfaction to have most of the country’s best players available for selection for this tie.
“We’re playing on hardcourt at altitude and we feel we’ve got a good chance. We have a squad of five players from which we will select the final four players for the tie, and Simphiwe Ngwenya will gain some valuable experience as a hitting partner in our training sessions. In the previous tie a few of the players were not available due to injury, but now we have a healthy bunch of players and we are very excited to take on Montenegro,” Norval emphasized when he announced the team.
In their last tie against Morocco, the under-strength SA team lost 4-1, led by Beckley who was struggling with illness and injury. They must now beat Montenegro in order to retain their place in World Group II.
Montenegro won four of their five ties at the Group III Europe tournament in North Macedonia in June, qualifying for the World Group II playoffs.
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