Tennis / Israel goes up 2-1 against Zimbabwe

From www.haaretz.com

Tennis / Israel goes up 2-1 against Zimbabwe

By Rami Hipsh

Yoni Erlich and Andy Ram defeated Zimbabwe's Wayne Black and Genius Chidzikwe 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles event of their Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone I relegation tie in Harare yesterday, to put Israel up 2-1 going into today's final matches.

Israel needs to win one match out of two today to avoid relegation from Europe/Africa Zone I, the competition's second level.

Ram and Erlich, the No. 10 doubles team in the world, have been a strong point for Israel in recent years. "This match was very important for us," Erlich said. "We wanted to take the point and come into [Sunday] with more confidence for the final day. We started out strong in the first set, with lots of presence and control. We broke them early and it gave us confidence and control for the entire match. After that, we were already loose, we played very well, we were better than them."



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On Friday, Dudi Sela, Israel's top male tennis player at the moment at No. 160, lost to Wayne Black 6-1, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. In the second match, Noam Okun picked up Israel's first point by defeating Chidzikwe 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.

Okun is already used to winning Davis Cup matches, especially against an opponent like Chidzikwe, No. 734 in the world.

"I began well," Okun said after his match Friday. "I didn't make a lot of mistakes. I played consistently, and from the start I showed him I intended to win the match."

Sela will try to seal the victory against Chidzikwe in the reverse singles at 1 P.M. Israel time today. If he loses, Okun will need to defeat Black in the final match of the competition for Israel t">Haaretz - Israel News - Tennis / Israel goes up 2-1 against Zimbabwe: "Tennis / Davis Cup

Tennis / Israel goes up 2-1 against Zimbabwe

By Rami Hipsh

Yoni Erlich and Andy Ram defeated Zimbabwe's Wayne Black and Genius Chidzikwe 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in the doubles event of their Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone I relegation tie in Harare yesterday, to put Israel up 2-1 going into today's final matches.

Israel needs to win one match out of two today to avoid relegation from Europe/Africa Zone I, the competition's second level.

Ram and Erlich, the No. 10 doubles team in the world, have been a strong point for Israel in recent years. 'This match was very important for us,' Erlich said. 'We wanted to take the point and come into [Sunday] with more confidence for the final day. We started out strong in the first set, with lots of presence and control. We broke them early and it gave us confidence and control for the entire match. After that, we were already loose, we played very well, we were better than them.'

On Friday, Dudi Sela, Israel's top male tennis player at the moment at No. 160, lost to Wayne Black 6-1, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3. In the second match, Noam Okun picked up Israel's first point by defeating Chidzikwe 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.

Okun is already used to winning Davis Cup matches, especially against an opponent like Chidzikwe, No. 734 in the world.

'I began well,' Okun said after his match Friday. 'I didn't make a lot of mistakes. I played consistently, and from the start I showed him I intended to win the match.'

Sela will try to seal the victory against Chidzikwe in the reverse singles at 1 P.M. Israel time today. If he loses, Okun will need to defeat Black in the final match of the competition for Israel to avoid relegation.