Namibia bounces back
Namibia on Wednesday managed to beat Algeria in the Davis Cup Africa Group III to finish second in their group in the tournament under way in Egypt.
Gideon van Dyk was first to play and narrowly lost 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-1 against Ilhlef Aymen in a three-set thriller.
Reports suggest that Van Dyk was very much in the game as he managed to hit the ball quite well.
But he was always facing an uphill battle because Algeria is one of the best African teams on the clay court.
Namibia levelled the tie when Tuki Jacobs beat Mohamed Hassen 6-1, 6-3.
Jacobs is said to have used his forehand to his full potential as Hassen couldn’t keep up with the Namibian’s combination of pace and power.
That was a case of sweet revenge for Jacobs, as the Namibian had lost to Hassen during last year’s Davis Cup.
Jacobs and Van Dyk then teamed up to beat Youcef Ghazal and Hassan 6-2, 6-2 in the decisive doubles game.
With the team getting great guidance from coach Johan Theron, the doubles pairing kept their opponents on the back foot.
This is the first time Namibia has beaten Algeria since it started participating Davis Cup in the year 2000.
“This is a great achievement for the team and I’m very proud of them. They showed exceptional character under pressure,” Theron remarked.
The team was equally happy. Jacobs described it as “a good day” while Van Dyk hailed a “good team effort [that] showed great character”.
Henco Serdyn, who did not play on Wednesday, congratulated his teammates on a job well done.
“Well done to the team, we secured a position in the finals,” he said.
Namibia was due to play Egypt, the group winners of Pool A, yesterday.
Tunisia, who dominated Pool B, were due to face Benin, who were runners-up in the other group.
The winners of those matches will be promoted to the Africa/Europe Group 2 of the Davis Cup.
Playoffs to determine the ranking of the other four teams were also to be played yesterday.
SPORT REPORTER
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