SA’s Henning hopes to ‘hit the ball clean’ against Nigeria’s Ekpenyong in Davis Cup opener
South Africa could hardly have been handed a more perfect draw in the Davis Cup World Group II play-off against Nigeria this weekend, with top seed Philip Henning kicking off proceedings in the opening singles rubber at Groenkloof Tennis Club in Pretoria on Saturday.
Henning will face Nigeria’s No 2, David Ekpenyong, at Groenkloof Tennis Club at 11am, before Kris van Wyk takes on Nigeria’s No 1, Christopher Bulus, later in the day.
Captain Pietie Norval was thrilled with the outcome of Friday’s draw.
“To be quite honest, I was hoping for that, with Philip being possibly the most experienced Davis Cup player that we have in the team at the moment,” admitted Norval afterwards.
“Logically, it would be good for him to play first, because if he gets out first and he can get us ahead if it goes well, that puts a bit of more pressure on them and less pressure on us.
“So, it kind of went our way there, but let’s see what happens.”
Earlier this week, Norval explained that training has had to be adapted to cope with the high altitude in Pretoria.
“There is a significant difference between playing at coastal level and playing up here in Pretoria or in Joburg, so it’s different, how I would prepare the team,” he said.
“The big difference is the rallies are normally shorter when they come up to altitude, which means the aggressive part of each player’s game needs to be sharper.
“It’s way easier to make mistakes up at altitude compared to down in Cape Town or Durban or some of the other coastal regions. So, that means we really have to focus on serving and returning.”
Norval added that speedy movement is also vitally important, with the ball flying through the air much faster than at sea level.
After a solid week of adapting to the high altitude and newly laid surface in Pretoria, Henning is looking forward to getting the tie under way.
“I’m ready. I feel prepared and have been playing well this week, hitting the ball clean, so hopefully I can help the Davis Cup team come out with the win. I’m sure it’s going to be an entertaining match,” reckoned the 24-year-old.
Sunday’s action will begin with the doubles match, where the youngest member of the SA team, 18-year-old Leo Matthysen, will join forces with Alec Beckley to take on the Nigerian pair of Abua Canice and Michael Emmanuel.
Don't miss any of the thrilling tennis action!!! 🎾
— Peace Mabe (@DM_PeaceMabe) January 31, 2025
Who will dominate the court? 🤔🤔
🎾South Africa 🇿🇦🆚 Nigeria 🇳🇬
📅Sat, 01 Feb |⏲️11:00 | 📅Sun, 02 Feb |⏲️10:30
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Matthysen reckoned his past Davis Cup experience will help in dealing with the pressure of the contest.
Matthysen and Beckley’s doubles encounter on Sunday will be followed by the reverse singles, with Henning taking on Bulus and Van Wyk set to play Ekpenyong.
Norval pointed out that the mission for the weekend is simple.
“We want to make the country proud,” he said.
Draw Announced! 🇿🇦🆚🇳🇬
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) January 31, 2025
The official draw for the @DavisCup World Group II Play-off between the @Renault_SA Team and Nigeria has been announced. SA’s No.1 player, Philip Henning, will kick off #TeamSA’s campaign in the first singles rubber against Nigeria’s No.2 player, David… pic.twitter.com/Aw7aeVqcNs
The clash in Pretoria is one of 38 Davis Cup ties taking place around the world this week.
Should the South Africans manage to defeat their west African rivals, they will avoid relegation from World Group II, and earn the right to play in the promotion play-off to rise to World Group I later this year.