Henning claws his way back as SA beat Nigeria in Davis Cup playoff

Top-ranked SA player Philip Henning led the charge on Sunday, digging deep to carry the SA Davis Cup team to a 3-1 victory over Nigeria in their World Group II playoff clash at Groenkloof Tennis Club in Pretoria.

Level at 1-1 heading into the second and final day of the tie, the SA had no trouble beating their opponents in the doubles rubber.

With captain Pietie Norval making late changes to their doubles pairing, the SA team’s top-ranked players, Henning and Kris van Wyk, took to the court.

They romped to a decisive 6-0 6-3 win over the second-string Nigerian pairing of Canice Abua and Michael Emmanuel, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead ahead of the reverse singles.

“Our plan was to get the doubles over as quickly as possible, knowing Philip had to come back and play singles and it worked in the end,” Norval said.

While the South Africans were in the driving seat at that point, Nigeria had somewhat of an advantage in the return singles matches after resting their top two players for the doubles.

However, Henning, the SA team’s No 1, managed to hold off a strong challenge from Nigeria No 2 Cristopher Bulus in the reverse singles.

Bulus won the first set in a tightly contested match before Henning clawed his way back and edged ahead, clinching a 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 victory.

“The whole match was a battle, and we went back and forth. He [Bulus] played a great match and every single game was tough, but I think my legs maybe lasted a bit longer than his,” Henning said.

“But it was hot out there and I’m just proud of the way I fought and I’m so happy to get the win in front of our home crowd. The fans today were unreal — it was such a great atmosphere — and I couldn’t be more happy.”

By beating Nigeria, SA avoided relegation from World Group II and earned the right to compete in the World Group I promotion playoffs later this year.

Tennis SA general manager Anthony Moruthane was confident the national men’s team could continue to make progress and climb the ladder in the Davis Cup.

“We’re very proud of their performance and we’re hoping we can lift the Davis Cup team to where they belong,” Moruthane said.

“We have Renault on board, we have other partners, and with Pietie [Norval] on board I’m confident we’ll be able to return to World Group I.”

Tennis SA