SA bank on altitude and fast court to upset higher-ranked Bosnia in Davis Cup

South Africa are hoping home advantage, altitude and faster playing conditions will help them overcome higher-ranked Bosnia and Herzegovina in their Davis Cup World Group II clash in Centurion this weekend.

The Renault South Africa Davis Cup team will face Bosnia and Herzegovina at Irene Country Club on Saturday and Sunday, with a place in the World Group I playoffs at stake.

Bosnia and Herzegovina sit 19 places above South Africa in the Davis Cup rankings and also hold the advantage from the countries’ previous meeting, winning 3-1 in a World Group I tie in Zenica in March 2020.

This time, however, South Africa have deliberately chosen conditions they hope will favour the hosts.

South Africa opt for faster Davis Cup conditions

The tie will be played on a hard court at altitude, with South Africa also opting for a quicker ball than the one used in their previous tie.

National captain Pietie Norval believes those conditions, combined with a near full-strength squad, give his players an opportunity.

“We have been preparing well. We’re very aware of the fact that it’s going to be difficult. On paper they have quite a strong team,” Norval said at Wednesday’s pre-draw press conference.

“We’re pretty much doing everything we can to give ourselves our best chance, and we’re hoping the other guys will struggle with the conditions a little bit, which will give us a better chance.

“But the only thing we can do is take care of business on our side, and we’ve been doing that over the last couple of days. What’s great is that we have got very close to a full-strength team coming into this tie. Everybody is injury free and strong.”

Bosnia have rankings advantage

The visitors also arrive with the higher-ranked players.

Damir Dzumhur is ranked No 105 in the world, while South Africa’s highest-ranked player, Philip Henning, is No 264.

Norval believes South Africa’s familiarity with their opponents will help with preparations, while the difference in playing surfaces could work in the hosts’ favour.

“Our research going into the weekend is way better and we can prepare better from our side,” he said. “They have played predominantly on clay courts over the last six months, so I’m hoping we will have the slight edge there because our guys are mostly hard-court specialists.”

Bosnia arrive early to adjust to conditions

Bosnia and Herzegovina have also been preparing for the challenge posed by playing in Centurion.

Captain Zoran Zrnic said his squad arrived early to acclimatise.

“We came in advance so we’ve had time to prepare for this important event,” Zrnic said. “The most important thing is that our players are healthy and we have a full team, so we are hoping on Saturday that we’re going to be ready for this tie.”

When will South Africa play Bosnia?

The Davis Cup draw will take place on Friday.

The opening two singles matches are scheduled for Saturday, with the doubles rubber and reverse singles taking place on Sunday.

With both teams reporting healthy squads, South Africa will now be looking to turn their choice of surface, faster conditions and home support into an advantage as they chase a place in the World Group I playoffs.

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