JACK MILNER
Top of the list is Argentina, but not far behind them comes Israel. That is why it is no surprise they have not lost a Davis Cup tie at Ramat Hasharon since 2011.
They kept their good record intact over the weekend with a victory over Sweden, knocking off the first three rubbers to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five match contest by Saturday afternoon.
One has to be honest and admit that Sweden did not exactly send their strongest team, but they nevertheless will not be happy to have taken the drop to Group 2 in the Euro/Africa Zone.
Gone are the glory days of Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander and it is hard to believe that Sweden does not have one male player ranked in the world’s top 100.
Elias Ymer is their highest ranked player at 158 with Carl Soderlund next best at 411. The two are followed by Christian Lindell (433), Markus Eriksson (450) and Mikael Ymer (474). and he played (158).
Israel got the tie off to a flying start thanks to Amir Weintraub. Despite being ranked 66 places below his opponent, Weintraub (222) dominated Sweden’s No 1 to score a 6-2 6-3 6-0 victory. Then Israel’s No 1, Dudi Sela, who is ranked 71 played Eriksson and despite not playing particularly well, still managed to win 6-4 6-2 6-3.
Then on Saturday Yoni Erlich and Sela clinched the victory with a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1 win over Isak Arvidsson and Johan Brunstrom in the doubles rubber.
With the tie won, Israel experimented with their youngsters and 19-year-old Edan Leshem went down 7-5 3-6 2-6 to Arvidsson.
Israel then handed a chance to 16-year-old prodigy Yshai Oliel, ranked 912, in what the Swedes agreed would be a friendly match because Oliel was not officially listed in Israel’s squad. The Israeli seized the opportunity and beat Erikkson 6-4 6-4.
“I know this victory didn’t count but it was an amazing feeling to represent my country and it gives me a great incentive to work harder and become part of the Davis Cup team,” said Oliel afterwards.
Israeli captain Eyal Ran told the Jerusalem Post: “It is amazing to defeat Sweden 3-0. We were under pressure on both days and I’m really proud of Yoni and Dudi for completing the job.”
Ran, who has captained and guided the team since 2005, said he has yet to decide if he will continue for another year.
“It is a lot easier to stay than it is to say goodbye, because this is something I love and enjoy doing,” he explained. “The year has ended and I’ll take two to three weeks to think. The next tie isn’t far away so I need to make a decision soon. I need a bit of time to think and to make the right decision for everyone.”
Israel will visit Portugal in the first round of Group I next February. While their record at home has been good, their form on the road has not been that great. They have only won a single away tie since the start of 2013.
The winners of that tie will then play Ukraine for a place in the World Group playoffs.
