Israel advances to Davis Cup World Group playoffs
Men's tennis squad achieves narrow win over Slovenia, and could potentially face USA, Spain or Serbia in September
Israel’s men’s tennis team secured a spot in the Davis World Group playoffs after downing Slovenia 3-1 in Portoroz Sunday.
The sides entered their Europe/Africa Zone Group I match in a 1-1 tie after being rained out Saturday.
Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich, playing together for the first time in almost three months, eked out a win versus Blaz Rola and Grega Zemlja with a final tally of 7:6 (7), 4:6, 7:6 (5), 6:3.
But it was Dudi Sela, Israel’s struggling star player who previously lost in a straight-set defeat to Rola on Friday — his seventh loss in a row in the Davis Cup — who punched the team’s play-off ticket.
Taking advantage of Zemlja, who returned to the court just two hours after the doubles contest, Sela recorded a 6:2, 6:7 (5), 6:0, 6:2 victory, his first win in the competition in two years.
“I played pretty well throughout the game,” Sela said after the match, “but my opponent played in the morning and Andy and Yoni kept him on the court for quite a while. I felt he wasn’t moving well on the court and I felt confident and I was more aggressive.”
The play-off draw will be held Wednesday. Serbia, Spain and the USA are among Israel’s potential opponents. The opening round will be held September 12-14, 2014.
“We have played several matches on the road, so I hope we will be able to play in our house,” added Sela. “Hopefully luck will be on our side.”