Israelis, Japanese to duel in wheelchair tennis

Israel’s national quad wheelchair tennis team will face Japan in the semifinals of the World Team Cup in Baia di Conte, Sardinia, on Saturday after ending the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record on Thursday.

After already securing its place in the last four with a tie to spare in Pool A, Israel defeated the Netherlands 2-1 on Thursday behind another strong showing from Noam Gershony.

The 2012 Paralympics singles gold medalist, who retired after his triumph in London but continues to train and represent Israel in the annual World Team Cup, defeated Niels Vink 6-1, 6-2 in the opening rubber before Sam Schroder leveled the score with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Shraga Weinberg.

Gershony and Weinberg then teamed up in the doubles to beat Vink and Schroder 6-4, 6-0 to give Israel the victory and take Gershony’s record in the singles and doubles in Sardinia to 6-0, with all his wins coming in straight sets.

Israel faces Japan for a place in the final after the latter finished second in Pool B behind Great Britain.

A total of 40 teams representing 29 countries are taking part in the different events at the World Team Cup, with the world’s top eight national teams participating in the quad competition.

Israel has won the quad event four times in the past, most recently in South Korea in 2012.