Harris to lead SA cup squad

SOUTH African Davis Cup captain Marcos Ondruska will again bank on his group of dependable players for their first-round Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 tie against Israel in Irene on February 2/3.

Ondruska has named an unchanged team for the fourth consecutive tie with Lloyd Harris leading the charge, while Nik Scholtz will again be the team’s second singles player.

Ranked 291st in the world, Harris is the country’s second-highest ranked player behind Kevin Anderson (12).

Scholtz (326th) will take some confidence into the tie after playing some stellar tennis over the last few months reaching a Futures final in Egypt while he won two Futures titles in Stellenbosch at the end of last year.

Doubles ace Raven Klaasen will combine with regular Davis Cup partner Ruan Roelofse and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches.

The squad is rounded off by Tucker Vorster.

Speaking from Seattle in the US yesterday, Ondruska said he believed the team would continue their upward curve since they earned promotion courtesy of their away win over Denmark last year.

“I think it’s going to be the most interesting tie that we’ve played in the recent past,” Ondruska said.

“The guys are as ready as they can be. They have had a good December and January getting their bodies ready for the demands of Davis Cup.”

Former professional doubles player and current ATP Tour coach Jeff Coetzee will assist Ondruska as a coaching consultant to the team.

Tennis SA announced yesterday that talented youngsters Philip Henning and Siphos Montsi would join the squad as hitting partners.