TENNIS:Jon Swift
IT is well, with the weekend’s Davis Cup World Group tie at Durban’s Westr= idg
e Park in view, to keep an eye on the quintessential cornerstone of the Rus= sia
n psyche – hardship is not a new phenomenon, it is to be both expected and = end
ured.
The Russians go into the crucial five-match encounter suffering the double = blo
w of being without their top player, Yevgeni Kafelnikov, and missing Alexan= der
Volkov.
And yet, the doubts still linger more in the South African court than in th= at=20
of the opponents who took them apart in the chill of Moscow two years ago.
There is no doubt that the Davis Cup has brought a new sense of togethernes= s a nd nationhood into the often distantly aloof business of professional tenni= s i n this country. It is also right that this nation-on-nation tournament has = giv
en a sport which had reached its administrative nadir some respectability i= n t he eyes of the average member of the South African sporting public.
But it must not be forgotten that the same competition has delivered some a= sto
unding lows, most notably when the South Africans disintegrated into the cl= ing
ing red clay of Rome against the lowly ranked Italians last time out.
And again this time around much hangs on the talents of Wayne Ferreira. It = is=20
an often unfair burden and, it must be added, to have played as well as he= di
d in Rome with badly damaged feet, Ferreira showed both personal guts and d= ete
rmination. His subsequent vilification was as undeserved as it was unearned= .
But it is essential to the South African cause that Ferreira win both his s= ing
les encounters against Andrei Cherkasov and Andrei Chesnakov if this countr= y i s to advance to the semi-finals.
It is asking much of a single player in what is essentially a team competit= ion
– especially as he will doubtless be expected to contest the doubles as we=
ll=20
– but one he is used to.
Ferreira’s recent record in Davis Cup matches is also not of the quality yo= u w ould expect of a man who is in and out of the world top 10, having emerged = on=20
the wrong end of the last five singles and doubles matches he has played fo= r h is country.
More importantly, a loss against the Russians leaves South Africa having to= pl
ay-off next year to gain the all-important entry into the World round.
And, once again, the Ferreira factor emerges in this unhappy eventuality. M= uch
as he says he enjoys the honour of playing for his country, Ferriera is un=
lik
ely to want to break away from a tournament schedule which is aimed at brin= gin
g him that one step up into the real upper echelon of the game.
It makes the equation of how Davis Cup captain Danie Visser balances the re= st=20
of his squad – Marcus Ondruska, Grant Stafford, Ellis Ferreira and Neville = God
win – even more important. We cannot continue relying on one man to make t= he=20
difference .
The Russians have accepted their problems, and stoically gone into the tie = wit
h only three players – the third completes the trio of Andreis, Olhovsky in= th
is case.
It is something that we could learn from and, indeed, will need should we b= eat
the Russians and face a probable quarter-final meeting against Sweden.