Tennis
SA dominate Macedonia
2009-03-06 17:44
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Johannesburg - Not since they were under the thumb of the Byzantium Empire in the
fourth century might Macedonia have felt so dominated as they were at
Emperors Palace on Friday as South Africa took a commanding 2-0 lead in
a one-sided Euro-Africa Group One Davis Cup tie.
Yet on a hot, sultry and cloudless day it was the Macedonians who
struck first like a bolt of lightening out of a clear blue sky, with a
hesitant Izak van der Merwe dropping the opening set of the tie against
Predrag Rusevski before gaining in confidence and momentum to
ultimately win 2-6 6-2 6-2 6-4.
The second game was devoid of any drama, with South African number
one Rik De Voest never seriously troubled while beating a rusty,
out-of-sorts Lazar Magdincev 6-3 6-2 6-1 in only 1hr 30min.
"Our players are usually more formidable in doubles," said
Macedonian captain Vladimir Andonov afterwards while commenting on
Saturday's third game, "and we hope to put up a better showing."
But in the additional pace of the high altitude conditions, which
clearly seem to worry the Macedonians, it would come as a major
surprise if De Voest and Jeff Coetzee do not tie up the match with an
unassailable 3-0 lead - thereby allowing De Voest to miss the reverse
singles and return a day earlier to the United States for the Indian
Welles Masters tournament.
Playing at a venue that was only a stone's throw from where he was
born in Kempton Park, the 1,95m Van der Merwe admitted he was helped by
a vociferous section of the 500-odd crowd who chanted "kom Sakkie"
throughout and clearly made their man feel at home.
And growing in confidence all the time, Van der Merwe's
sweet-stroking serve was well-nigh unplayable at the end, with a
succession of scorching backhand passing shots leaving Rusevski
bothered and bewildered on the few occasions he ventured to the net.
Yet, for all Van der Merwe's ultimate ascendancy, the course of the
game turned dramatically and conclusively in the opening game of the
second set after Rusevski was visibly upset by what appeared a dubious
line-call - dropping his service in the process.
"He certainly seemed to lose his poise at this point," said
Macedonian captain Andonov, "and I am positive it was a bad call. But
that in itself is not an excuse for losing and Van der Merwe was
playing top-class tennis in the end." With a resemblance to both
Russian tennis legend Marat Safin and soccer "Footballer of the Year"
Christiano Ronaldo, the good-looking Rusevski gave as good as he got
for most of the match, but ultimately found Van der Merwe's serve too
hot to handle - and he seemed to lose concentration on his own serve at
crucial moments to knock the final nails into his coffin.
The 28 year-old Magdincev, who boasts a Davis Cup win over
up-and-coming whizz kid Ernests Gulbis, only played in two ATP
tournaments last year and clearly looked in need of match practice
against a serene and unperturbed De Voest.
"I started a little too casually," admitted de Voest, "and lost
concentration at times in the first set. But once I discovered his
forehand rather than his backhand was his weak shot, I did not have too
much trouble." Magdincev surrendered the second set with a double-fault
and De Voest clinched the match with an ace - which aptly demonstrated
the vast difference between the players.
Saturday's doubles features De Voest and Coetzee against Rusevski
and Magdincev - and a victory here for South Africa will earn South
Africa a match against Belarus next as captain John-Laffnie de Jager
and his team bid to regain a place in the prestigious World Group in
2010.