Johannesburg – South Africa are planning to cause a major upset when they face Canada in their World Group playoff fixture in Montreal starting on Friday.
The team, represented by Rik de Voest, Izak van der Merwe, Raven Klaasen and debutante Nikala Scholtz, will be fighting for a spot in the top 16 and must win the tie to progress to the World Group of next year's Davis Cup.
South Africa have not made it back to the top tier since 1998 and in the last three years have seen defeats against India, Germany and Croatia.
“We are going for a win and are highly confident,” Klaasen said on Wednesday.
“We've always been one match away from securing a spot in the top 16 and are now hopeful for better results this weekend.
“This is a great platform to cause major upsets and we have no doubt... that we will execute our game plan on the weekend and bring it (the cup) back to South Africa.
“Our game plan for the doubles on Saturday is centred around Daniel Nestor, in a possible partnership with Vasek Pospisil.”
South Africa forfeited home ground advantage earlier this year, citing financial reasons, and hosts Canada opted to play on a hardcourt, which suits both teams.
“The hardcourt surface is similar to the one used at the US Open and we have all played on it,” said Van der Merwe.
“We grew up playing on a hardcourt, all our preparation is on hardcourt and after two days here in Canada we were familiar with the court and are very comfortable.
“The only challenge will be playing at sea level as we would have preferred to play at altitude.”
Canada will field a strong line for the clash.
The team led by Martin Laurendeau includes Nestor, Pospisil, Frank Dancevic and Milos Raonic. Raonic is the highest ranked Canadian singles player at number 15 in the ATP men's singles rankings – 155 spots ahead of SA's top ranked De Voest.
Doubles specialist Nestor, is the current record holder in the Davis Cup for most wins (44), most doubles wins (29) and most ties played (41). Nestor is currently ranked third in the ATP men's doubles rankings.
All the Davis Cup matches will be broadcast live on Supersport. – Sapa