SA to take on Lithuania in Davis Cup

South Africa beat Monaco 3-2 at the same venue earlier this month in round one of the Davis Cup.

TSA acting CEO Gavin Crookes said his organisation had formed a good working partnership with the Country Club and it made sense that the Davis Cup returned to the venue.

“The last tie was a huge success and it was mainly due to the hard work and commitment from the Irene Country Club committee,” Crookes said in a statement.

“The players loved the venue and also requested to return there.”

Crookes said the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had requested that the match court at the Country Club be increased in size to abide by international Davis Cup regulations.

“When the ITF asked us to increase the size of the match court, we approached Irene Country Club and they had no hesitation in accepting the ITF conditions and have assured TSA that they will increase the court size accordingly, which in the long term will benefit the club.”

Chairman of Irene Country Club Tennis, Craig Herbst said they were excited to host the Davis Cup again.

“We were delighted to receive such overwhelmingly positive feedback about Irene Country Club as a Davis Cup venue after the last tie,” he said.

“The club has taken a decision that the hosting of such events forms part of our strategic planning, and intends to partner closely with Tennis South Africa in helping to bring the magic of tennis to more and more South Africans.

“We look forward to welcoming Team South Africa back to the venue, and hosting Team Lithuania for the first time.”

South Africa and Lithuania meet for the first time in the history of the competition with the victor progressing to a promotion play-off.

South Africa will be looking to bounce back to Europe Africa Zone Group one after they were relegated last year, while Lithuania have never been higher than Zone Group two in the 20 years they have competed in Davis Cup.

– Sapa