SA assembles fairly strong Davis Cup squad

3 years ago 1

ARTICLE AD BOX

SA Davis Cup captain Christo van Rensburg announced his team yesterday, led by world-renowned doubles specialist Raven Klaasen, to play against Luxembourg next month.

Luxembourg will host South Africa in a World Group II playoff tie on February 4 and 5 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.

Klaasen, the country’s highest-ranked doubles player at number 56 in the world, will lead a squad, which includes emerging SA tennis stars Kris van Wyk, 26, Alec Beckley, 21, and Devin Badenhorst, 18, all of whom will be making their debuts in the international team competition.

“I’m very excited about the guys I've put together for this tie because, for the first time in a long time, South Africa currently have four players in the top 1,000,” Van Rensburg said.

While SA’s top-ranked singles player, Lloyd Harris, has made himself unavailable in the early stages of his comeback from wrist surgery, and talented prospect Khololwam Montsi is also unavailable, Van Rensburg expressed his delight at having Klaasen in the team.

“Raven Klaasen has a lot of experience. He’s still out there on the tour and still playing really good doubles,” Van Rensburg said of the former Grand Slam finalist.

Van Wyk, meanwhile, will lead the singles attack as the highest-ranked singles player in the squad, and Van Rensburg is pleased to be able to give him a chance to spearhead the national team.

“Kris van Wyk has won two tournaments in the last three months, reached one semifinal and five quarterfinals,” the skipper said.

“He had an incredible end to the 2022 season and I’m so excited to see him ranked No 514 in the world and getting ready to crack the top 500.”

Beckley also had an impressive 2022 season, winning his first ITF pro title in Egypt at the M15 Sharm El-Sheikh.

The winner of the World Group II playoff tie between SA and Luxembourg will compete in the World Group II division later this year, while the loser will be relegated to Regional Group III events.

In their only previous Davis Cup tie against Luxembourg, South Africa earned a 5-0 victory in a Euro/Africa Group II clash in Centurion in 2016.