Sri Lankan Davis Cup Team “the Unmatchable”

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Category: tennis

Published on Sunday, 19 June 2011 17:21

Written by Timothy Rajaratnam

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The Sri Lankan Davis Cup team cruised into the Asia Oceania Group II by defeating all the nations they played against in Group III at Davis Cup tournament which concluded a little while ago. The Sri Lankan team stepped into this tournament with the sole objective of regaining the position they lost last year in Group II. Sri Lanka had a very disappointing tournament last year where they lost both their ties. The pressure was on the senior players Harshana Godamanna and Rajeev Rajapakse to live up to the expectations, but the format of the ties were not the usual ones Lankans are used to played which made it difficult for them to adjust. But Harshana Godamanna lived up to certain extend by displaying some splendid tennis.

Sri Lanka this year began their campaign on day one by defeating Vietnam in their opening tie 3-0 with ease. On day two they were up against Myanmar which they too won with ease by defeating them 3-0. Day three was the most anticipated day, as Sri Lanka was up to play favourites Kuwait. Kuwait was perceived to be the toughest nation by the Lankans. Oshada Wijemanne opened the proceedings as usual by playing the first match which was the first singles. Oshada fondly known as “Osha” in the Sri Lankan tennis community got on to a brilliant start in the first set to a point where he led 5/2, but then lost his momentum where he ended up losing the first set 5/7. Osha who tried to get back into the match in the second set could not overcome his opponent and lost the second set 4/6 with the final score 5/7, 4/6 as follows. Next Harshana Godamanna played the second singles unfortunately the whole match wasn’t played, the opponent gave a walk over due to an injury in the first set when the score was in favour of Harshana 5/4. With 1 match each both team clashed in their deciding match which was the doubles. Harshana along with Rajeev won the doubles with ease in straight sets which led to Lanka winning the tie 2-1. After defeating Vietnam, Myanmar and Kuwait; Sri Lanka qualified to the next round which is the deciding round. The winners of the deciding round are promoted to Asia Oceania Group II, whilst the others remain in Group III.

Sri Lanka qualifying to the next round was set to play Malaysia. The tie against Malaysia on Day four was the crucial and deciding tie for Lanka in relation to their promotion to Group II. After the wakeup call Oshada got from Kuwait, he bounced back to win the first match against Malaysia to win 6/4, 7/5 against the heavy resistance shown by the Malaysian. Sri Lanka with the lead of 1-0 went on to their second singles; where Harshana Godamanna leathered his opponent with his powerful strokes that were deep leaving no chance for his opponent to take control of the game. Harshana got his opponent moving all around the court which created ample space for him to go for winners and finished the match in straight sets 6/1, 6/2. Sri Lanka with the 2-0 lead moved into their final match of the tie. A surprising change was made as they brought in the boy from the east Dineshkanthan Thangarajah to play along with Rajeev Rajapakse resting Harshana, this move cost the match as they (Dinesh and Rajeev) went down 6/4, 6/1 ending the tie at 2-1. The move was considered unnecessary but on the other hand they had already won the tie by winning the first two matches since it is mandatory to play all three matches they played the third match as well.

The victory from this tie secured a place for Sri Lanka in Asia Oceania Group II reminding you again they achieved their sole objective, but it didn’t finish there for Sri Lanka they also had to play Lebanon who too has secured a place in Group II. The tie against Lebanon will decide the rank of both teams in Group II, the winner of this tie will get a higher rank which means they will play a weaker team compared to the loser of this tie. Today Sri Lanka took on Lebanon in the rank decider of Group II where they overcame their opponents with ease. Oshada who played the first singles which was given a walk over in the first set when the score stood at 5/2, Harshana in the second singles defeated his Lebanese opponent 6/1, 6/0 with ease. The doubles was given a walk over to the hosts straight away the first game 1/0 with the tie resulting 3-0 in favour to Sri Lanka. It seemed that Lebanon was happy with their achievement and were not keen in winning this tie. So that is the end of another Davis Cup, Sri Lanka remains undefeated and are promoted to Group II

A little highlights on the key players’ performances. Former Royal tennis captain and National Champ Harshana Godamanna was exceptional. He continued his winning streak and is growing from strength to strength. He played the role of an anchor well for his team, showing reliability on both formats of the game singles and doubles. Oshada Wijemanne’s come back to Sri Lanka tennis has been a great boost especially to the Davis Cup team. Oshada who just lost one match in this Davis Cup was beyond expectations. Oshada is the next best in line after Harshana, if Oshada continues playing along with Harshana and the rest as a team they could make magic at the next Davis Cup. Rajeev Rajapakse compared to last year had a better tournament this year since he was rested from playing singles and was able to concentrate more on his doubles game which he is a specialist at. If Sri Lanka can play the same team next year they can guard their position and prevent them from relegation which definitely will be their objective as it is impossible to think of a promotion since the competition is intense and the format of the game is longer compared to Group III.

The victorious team comprises non playing captain Aasiri Iddamalagoda, Harshana Godamanna, Rajeev Rajapakse, Oshada Wijemanne and Dineshkanthan Thangarajah. The Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) has a tough task to achieve and that is to keep or get Harshana Godamanne and Oshada Wijemanne for next year’s Davis Cup as they both are based in the US for their higher studies; this is a challenge SLTA has been facing for years. We congratulate the Davis Cup tea and wish them success for next year’s tournament.

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