Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
SA’s Harris and Vorster come out firing on the Highveld
Luxembourg feeling a little hot under the collar
SOUTH AFRICA’S two singles players Lloyd Harris and Tucker Vorster swept past their respective opposition in the first set of singles matches for a 2-0 lead in their Euro-Africa Group II Davis Cup tie against Luxembourg in Irene yesterday.
The 19- year- old Harris impressed in his Davis Cup debut showing maturity that belies his years defeating Luxembourg’s number one player Ugo Nastasi 6-1 6-4 6-4 in the second rubber of the day.
In the first match, South Africa’s first-choice Vorster overcame a resurgent Alex Knaff to get the South African team off to a good start with a victory of 6-1 6-4 6-4 in scorching conditions.
The duo strengthened the country’s chances of clinching the tie ahead of today’s doubles match where Dean O’Brien and Ruan Roelofse will take on Nastasi and Mike Scheidweiler.
The winner of the tie will advance to the second round of Group II where they will take on either Lithuania or Norway. The lanky Harris got out of the blocks like a man possessed, winning the first game 6- 1 before Nastasi launched his fightback.
“I feel I played a really good match today, I came out firing at the start, I went up early and got the early break winning the first set 6-1,” Harris said.
“It is pretty hot out there, pretty humid and sweaty, but I kept playing well producing a solid second and third set.”
After only recently turning professional, Harris believed the victory would be the shot in the arm for his career moving forward individually and for the team.
“It is a really important part of my career, so it has been great. It has been great fun with the guys supporting and with a great atmosphere out there,” he said.
Vorster had a similar start before the 18-year-old Knaff put up some resistance, with the South African clinching the match without dropping a serve.
Battling the heat, humidity, altitude and playing with a different type of ball than he is used to, Vorster could relate to the challenges the tourists experienced on their South African sojourn.
“It was tough, I wasn’t quite comfortable with my game yet, it is a process coming back to high altitude, we are playing with different balls than we are used to and it takes you a little bit longer to adjust than usual,” he said. “I wasn’t 100 percent comfortable out there but I competed well and all-in-all I am happy with the win.”
South Africa’s captain Marcos Ondruska was satisfied getting the two victories out of the way
“It is great and going into a tie it is something you hope for, the problem is you have to do the work in between, and from start to finish,” he said.
“I think we did well executing in the moments along the way, and the results reflect great play; it is at altitude and the ball is somewhat faster.”
His counterpart from Luxembourg, Johny Goudenbour, highlighted how his players battled to get to grips with the hot weather and the thin air of the Highveld.
“It is difficult for us to play under these conditions because we are not used to it,” Goudenbour said.
“South Africa also has a good doubles team with good returns, so we know it is going to be very difficult. The tie so far has been very difficult for us so far but you never know and every match has to be played.”