Centurion – South Africans Raven Klaasen and Ruan Roelofse overpowered Thomas Oger and Guilluame Couillard in the doubles on Saturday, as the hosts took a 2-1 lead over Monaco in the Euro-Africa Group Two tie, at the Irene Country Club, in Centurion, on Saturday.
Klaasen and Roelofse beat the Monaco pair 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in a five-set thriller to clinch the vital point.
Earlier Nik Scholtz upset Monaco's number one singles player Benjamin Ballere 7-5, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 3-6, 6-3 in the second singles rubber, levelling the tie 1-1.
In the opening singles match on Friday, Monaco's Romain Arneodo clinched a hard-fought 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 victory over South Africa's number one Rik de Voest, to give the visitors the lead.
The battle for points continues on Sunday in the reverse singles where De Voest will be up against Balleret while Scholtz takes on Arneodo in the last match of the tie. – Sapa