SA V PORTUGAL

IN-FORM Lloyd Harris, pictured, will be looking to put South Africa on the front foot in the opening rubber in the team’s allimportant Davis Cup Euro/Africa Group 1 playoff tie against Portugal today.

Harris, who is experiencing a meteoric rise in the world singles ranks, will go up against Portugal’s No 2 singles player Pedro Sousa in his seventh Davis Cup tie.

SA’s non-playing captain Marcos Ondruska said the draw played into their hands with the world 112th ranked Harris taking the lead.

“It doesn’t really make a difference who goes out first but having Lloyd play the opening rubber is what I hoped for,” Ondruska said.

“Lloyd is playing some really good tennis and if he can win his opener on Friday it will put South Africa in a very good position. It will also allow for Lloyd to get some extra time for recovery before coming back to play the reverse singles on Saturday.”

Harris is fresh off winning his second ATP Challenger tournament in Stockton, the United States two weeks ago. The 21-year-old won his first Challenger title in Kentucky in August while he qualified for his first grand slam at the US Open.

“I feel good going into the tie and really looking forward to getting out there first to get the team started,” Harris said.

Lloyd Harris, Nik Scholtz, Raven Klaasen, Ruan Roelofse, Philip Henning and captain Marcos Ondruska Joao Sousa, Pedro Sousa, Gastao Elias, Joao Domingues and captain Nuno Marques | Ockert de Villiers