Previous Story
Race retains team for tie with Malaysia
|
Posted on Mar 26 2006
Pacific Oceania Davis Cup captain Jeff Race has named an unchanged team for the islanders’ all-important second round tie against Malaysia to be played in Noumea from April 7 to 9.
West Nott of Marshall Islands will be looking to emulate his win against Hong Kong and will be joined by teammates Juan Langton of Western Samoa, Michael Leong of Solomon Islands, and Brett Baudinet of Cook Islands
“Pacific Oceania go into the all important Asia/Oceania Group 2 relegation tie against Malaysia with an unchanged team from that which was beaten by seeded Hong Kong in the first round,” said Oceania Tennis Federation executive officer Patrick O’Rourke.
Unlike its first round tie with Hong Kong, which Pacific Oceania lost 4-1, O’Rourke is optimistic the team would put together a better performance against the Southeast Asian nation, especially playing on home soil.
“Malaysia was well beaten by second seeds Indonesia in the first round. With home ground advantage, the Pacific Oceania is looking to put in a good performance and retain their place in Group 2 for 2007,” he said.
According to O’Rourke Langton and Leong have been playing satellite tournaments in India where they have gained valuable matchplay against strong opposition.
Nott, who scored the only win against Hong Kong, for his part, has been getting plenty of tennis at his base at the University of Washington in Seattle, while Bret Baudinet will be looking to recapture the form that took him to the gold medal at the South Pacific Games last year.
The tie will be played on Rebound Ace at the headquarters of Ligue Caledonienne de tennis in Noumea. The opening two singles will be played on Friday starting at 3pm, the doubles on Saturday will be at 2pm and the reverse singles from 11am on Sunday.
The draw will be made at 12pm on Thursday April 6 and placed on the Davis Cup website by early afternoon.
