South Africa were beaten 3-2 by Lithuania on the Irene Country Club tennis courts this past weekend in the latest blow for the sport in the country. The Euro/Africa Group II Lithuanian loss means the South Africans stay in Davis Cup Group II for another year after relegation from Group I in 2013. The saddest part is that in many ways it could be seen coming.
Lithuania’s number one player Ricardas Berankis is an accomplished ATP campaigner with high-profile wins over the likes of David Nalbandian and Tommy Haas. Berankis was favoured to win both his singles rubbers and he did just that. Ultimately the inexperience of Jean Andersen and Ruan Roelofse told and perhaps even that little lack of quality that the South Africans simply do not possess.
Hometown hero Rik De Voest drew the hosts level with a singles victory on Friday but was unable to reproduce that feat in the reverse singles on Sunday against Berankis. The 33-year old bowed out of Davis Cup with a special commemorative Davis Cup Commitment Award for representing his country in 20 ties. De Voest has been a loyal and dependable stalwart for his country and it is a travesty that he was never able to play in the World Group. De Voest was always available for selection and captain John-Laffnie De Jager has entered a rebuilding phase that probably started about two years ago already.
The truth is that De Jager and De Voest both deserve better for their efforts. De Jager has taken the country from the depths of Group III to the cusp of the World Group. However the lack of top players coming through the ranks has finally caught up with De Jager’s side. The present Tennis South Africa (TSA) administration will point fingers at their predecessors for the mess the sport is currently in and perhaps with merit but the buck stops with TSA; past, present and future.
Given Kevin Anderson’s ubiquitous unavailability and De Voest’s retirement De Jager is now faced with the tricky task of leading South Africa’s Davis Cup charge without a singles player ranked in the top 500 (As at 31 March 2014). Of course the country will not play Davis Cup again until next year after the Australian Open and a lot can happen between now and then.
Also on the positive front is that exciting youngsters are slowly coming through the ranks. The likes of Roelofse and Dean O’Brien are already featuring in De Jager’s squads and teenager Wayne Montgomery cannot be too far away from the mix either. The saddest part of all is that unless the evasive Anderson has an unlikely sudden change of heart, the battle may well endure for far longer than any of us are comfortable seeing, but here’s hoping.