The new season for the sport of Tennis will undoubtedly begin on a high as the stage is set for a mammoth Davis Cup encounter between Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
The two nations are set to meet each other in the first round of the Group 2 Asia Oceania Zone and the matches will be played over the course of three days from the 31st of January to the 2nd of February at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association.
The host nation will be represented by a team comprising Harshana Godamanna, Rajeev Rajapaksha, Dineshkanthan Thangarajah and Sharmal Dissanayake. The team will be led by non playing captain and former Davis Cup player Rohan De Silva. The Swiss coach Dominic Utzinger who has been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s past Davis Cup campaigns will take on the duty as the coach of the team.
Harshana Godamanna
Date of Birth : October 31st 1985
Height : 180cm
School : Royal College, Colombo
Back Hand : Single – Handed
Started Tennis : At the age of 3
Racket : Wilson
Coaches : Sylvester Francis and Dominik Utzinger
Davis Cup Record
First year played : 2002
Ties played : 40
Singles (W/L) : 32/11
Doubles (W/L) : 23/6
Total (W/L) : 55/17
Harshana Godamanna who is more fondly known as ‘Godda’ is one of the finest tennis players Sri Lanka has produced. His commitment towards the sport and his ‘do or die’ attitude on court has taken him to great heights in the Sri Lankan sporting arena and he can also take great pride in the fact that he has played a colossal role in building a name for the sport of Tennis in our motherland.
He is a highly talented individual who has a vast array of achievements. He won the Nationals Triple Crown (Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles) on two occasions in the year 2005 and 2006 and in addition to this he has won numerous amounts of singles and doubles titles in various ranking tournaments organized by the Sri Lanka Tennis Association. He has represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth games and the Asian Games and is one of the few Sri Lankans who has performed exceptionally well at an international level. He, together with Arjun Fernando and Suresh Sivagnanam happen to be the only Sri Lankans to have ever held an ATP world ranking below 1000.
Harshana who is an inspiration both on and off the court has the record for being Sri Lanka’s most successful Davis Cup player and has been the driving force behind our country’s successful performances in the recent years. Known for his wonderful array of strokes including his devastating single handed back hand, Harshana is definitely one of the key players to look out for in Sri Lanka’s all important tie against the Philippines.
Rajeev Rajapakse
Date of Birth : May 11th 1980
Height : 6ft
School : Royal College, Colombo
Back Hand : Single – Handed
Started Tennis : At the age of 9
Racket : Wilson
Coaches : Sudantha Soysa and Dominik Utzinger
Davis Cup Record
|
First year played: |
1998 |
|
Ties played : |
46 |
|
Singles (W/L) : |
12/10 |
|
Doubles (W/L) : |
29/12 |
|
Total (W/L) : |
41/22 |
Rajeev Rajapakse who is one of the most gifted players of the sport has been a crucial part of the Sri Lankan Davis Cup team for more than a decade and continues to provide the vital element of experience that the Lankan team requires. He developed his love and passion for the sport during his school days at Royal College where he represented the College team and since then he has gone onto become one of the country’s most acknowledged tennis players.
He has been a Nationals singles runner up on a total of four occasions and has won a number of Nationals Men’s doubles titles partnering the likes of former Davis Cup player Renouk Wijemanne and Harshana Godamanna. Rajeev has also been a part of the teams that represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games held in Korea and Qatar and the 2010 Commonwealth games held in India.
Rajeev Rajapakse together with Harshana Godamanna holds the record for being the most successful Sri Lankan doubles team in the Davis Cup. The duo has an impressive record of eighteen wins and only four losses and they are likely to feature in the all important doubles rubber against the Phillipines. Rajapakse who has been a consistent performer over the years will most definitely play an important role in Sri Lankas attempt to turn the tables on the mighty Philippines.
Dineshkanthan Thangarajah
Date of Birth : January 5th 1991
Height :5’ 10”
School :St. Micheal’s College Batticoloa, St.Peters College
Back Hand : Double – Handed
Started Tennis : At the age of 7
Racket :Dunlop
Coaches : Dinith Pathiraja
Davis Cup Record
First year played : 2010
Ties played : 6
Singles (W/L) : 3/7
Doubles (W/L) : 0/2
Total (W/L) : 3/9
Dinesh is an exceptionally talented player who made the transition from the junior levels of the sport to the senior levels with the greatest ease. His belief in the ideals of hard work, commitment and dedication have taken him to great heights and with the guidance of his coach Dinith Pathiraja he is well on his way to becoming the future of the Sri Lankan Davis Cup team.
He has won Nationals titles in the under 10, 12, 14 and 18 age groups and his dominance at the Junior Level was made evident when he was ranked number one at the 2005 Asian Zone 2 championships. He also had an ITF (International Tennis Federation) under 18 ranking of 512 in the world and he has won many under 18 ITF singles and doubles championships. At a senior level Dinesh has won many singles and doubles events at tournaments such as the SSC open and the Colombo Championships and he has also won the all important Men’s Nationals Singles title. He has represented Sri Lanka at the Junior Davis Cup in the year 2006 and the Commonwealth and Asian Games in the year 2010.
He made his debut appearance in the Davis Cup in the year 2010 and his greatest moment was when he defeated Alayli Karim in the all important deciding singles rubber against Lebanon in the year 2013. Dinesh who is best known for his smart play and sound technique will be yet another key player to watch out for on the Sri Lankan team.
Sharmal Dissanayake
Date of Birth : May 14th 1996
Height : 5’ 9”
School : Royal College
Back Hand : Double-Handed
Started Tennis : At the age of 3
Racket : Wilson
Coaches : Sylvester Francis, Vijaykanth, Ashutosh Singh
Sharmal is a very promising young player, who at the age of seventeen is the youngest member of the Sri Lankan team. He eats, breathes and sleeps Tennis and is currently based in Germany where he is undergoing an intense training programme at the Schuttler and Waske Tennis University. Representing Sri Lanka at the Davis Cup is a dream that every player has and Sharmal’s dream is set to become a reality when he makes his first appearance in the Sri Lankan team that will take on the Philippines.
He has an exceptional record of winning the Junior Nationals titles in the under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 categories and one of his greatest moments was when he was selected to represent a team of elite under 14 Asian players who toured Europe in the year 2010. He has won multiple ITF under 18 singles and doubles titles and was ranked as high as 201 in the world. Sharmal has also represented Sri Lanka at the under 14 world Juniors tournament and the Junior Davis Cup.
Sharmal who is known for his powerful strokes and aggressive style of play is undoubtedly a massive value addition to the team and he will be keen to prove his worth to the Sri Lankan tennis community and the world of tennis as a whole.
ThePapare takes this opportunity to wish the Sri Lankan team the very best ahead of their preparation for the 2014 Davis Cup.
