Tough times ahead for SA

The draw made this week for next year’s various Davis Cup segments has provided an additional slice of optimism and expectation for South Africa’s Euro-Africa Group One captain Marcos Ondruska said.

“We now face the challenge of playing in a group with some of the leading players in the world,” said Ondruska, “with the opening match in February against either Israel (at home) or Romania (away) providing us with a fighting chance of ultimately making further process towards a prized place in the World Group”.

Not so comforting is the linked realisation that a possible second game if victory is achieved against either Israel or Romania is the fact that South Africa would in all likelihood then face the group’s top-seeded Czech Republic, spearheaded by Tomas Berdych.

Both Israel and Romania are reliant to a great extent on a single player for success, with Israel depending on Dudi Sela and Romania’s chances resting with Marius Copil – both rated in the 80s.

And while South Africa, with an apparent doubles edge through the powerful combination of Raven Klaasen and Roelof Roelofse, could conceivably edge into the next round from fixtures in February, the chance of success from this point will depend almost entirely on whether currently 15th-ranked world player, Kevin Anderson, ends his six-year, self-imposed exile from Davis Cup competition to face the likes of Berdych and a strong back-up cast of supporting players.

And despite the heartening development at Davis Cup level, is the sombre situation of South Africa again failing to qualify for a place in either the ITF’s Davis Cup or Fed Cup junior tournaments currently in progress in Hungary.