Ondruska pleased as SA go through
Having coasted through the opening round of the Euro-Africa Group 2 division, national captain Marcos Ondruska was satisfied with the all-round performance of South Africa’s Davis Cup tennis team at the weekend.
The squad kept their promotion hopes alive, booking their place in the second round of their continental group with a convincing 4-1 victory over Estonia in Centurion.
“Overall, looking back at the weekend, I think our guys performed really well,” Ondruska said yesterday.
“I don’t think there is much to critique over there and that is what we wanted going in.”
Teenage star Lloyd Harris won both his singles fixtures against Vladimir Ivanov and Mattias Siimar during the three-day tie at the Irene Country Club, romping to straight-set victories over both their opponents.
Nik Scholtz, making a comeback to the national side after a three-year absence, was given the point against Jurgen Zopp in his opening singles match, with the Estonian player retiring injured, though he lost to Ivanov in his second contest.
In the doubles rubber, world No 13 Raven Klaasen and Ruan Rolofse earned a hardfought win over Siimar and Kenneth Raisma.
South Africa will face either Monaco or Slovenia in the second round of their division in the international team competition in April, in search of a place in the promotion play-offs as they target a spot in Group 1.
Eager to lift themselves from the lower levels of the continental group, Ondruska believed his team would take another step up in their next fixture.
After languishing in Group 2 for four seasons in a row, he felt they had the ability to climb the ladder, with a long-term goal of reaching the top-flight World Group division.
“I am confident that in the next tie we are going to be better than it was here,” Ondruska said.