South Africa remain confident after slipping on day one against Lebanon
South Africa have not given up and will dig deep on Sunday to overturn the deficit, says captain Christo van Rensburg, as they look to stay in the hunt in their Davis Cup World Group II tie against Lebanon.
On the opening day of the tie, taking place at a neutral venue in Cairo, the SA team were edged out in both singles matches, and they will need to win all three of their contests on day two to emerge triumphant.
Alec Beckley opened the national team's account on Saturday by putting up a fight against Benjamin Hassan, though he ultimately fell in a 4-6 2-6 defeat.
A Tough Start for Team SA in Cairo!
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) September 14, 2024
Team South Africa got off to a challenging start on Day 1 of the @DavisCup World Group II tie. Alec Beckley put up a fight but ultimately lost the opening singles rubber 6-4, 6-2 against the experienced Benjamin Hassan of Lebanon.
🇿🇦0⃣ - 1⃣🇱🇧… pic.twitter.com/U1vTcqig5Z
In the second singles rubber, Philip Henning produced a gutsy effort, but he was narrowly beaten in a 4-6 6-3 6-7 loss to Hady Habib.
What a fight from Philip Henning! 🙌
— Tennis South Africa (@TennisSA) September 14, 2024
SA’s No. 1 player, Henning, played his heart out but narrowly lost 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) to Lebanon’s No. 2, Hady Habib. Lebanon now leads 2-0 after Day 1 of the Davis Cup World Group II tie in Cairo.
The SA team will be hoping to fight back on… pic.twitter.com/TtEHpf3nPa
Van Rensburg admitted they had faced "tough matches" on day one, but he felt they could pull it back with three matches remaining on Sunday.
"Tomorrow is going to be tough. We will go back and discuss how the opponents are playing, but I'm very proud of the way the guys played. It was so close," Van Rensburg said.
"We hope to win the doubles tomorrow and we will keep fighting."
In the doubles rubber on Sunday, Henning and Beckley are up against Mustapha El Natour and Fadi Bidan.
Later in the day, in the reverse singles, Beckley will face Habib and Henning will turn out against Hassan.
The winning team will compete in the World Group I playoffs next year, while the losing side will be relegated to the World Group II playoffs.
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