Nigeria’s team will be up against Zimbabwe in the opening round of matches at the Davis Cup Africa Group III event holding in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital.
Hakim Fateh, the ITF Referee at the event, made this known during the Captains’ briefing held on Monday, 15 July, inside the players’ lounge at the tennis section of the National Stadium in Abuja.
The ITF Official from Algeria informed that the matches will be starting on Tuesday, 16 July, after the opening ceremony which is scheduled for 9:40am on the same day.
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“Match starts by 10am daily with the second Singles and ten minutes after the end of the match, the first Singles will be played.
“On Day two, two winners will play against each other while two losers will play each other and one winner will play against one loser. The idea is to keep the competitiveness of the matches,” Fateh stated during the briefing.
Zimbabwe, being the number one-ranked nation, will take on Nigeria, the least ranked country of the six participating countries in the first day of the competition while Namibia will take on Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire going up against Benin Republic.
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The ITF Referee also informed that subsequent ties will be decided as the days go by and according to the outcome of other matches.
Coach Benson Ishicheli, the Nigerian non-playing captain, informed Nigeria Tennis Live after the draws, that his players are ready for any country that comes first.
“We are ready for any country that comes first, the boys are super ready,” the Nigerian coach said when asked if the players were ready for Zimbabwe.
Team captain, Uche Oparaoji, also echoed Coach Ishicheli’s bias, stating that “we are ready even if we are asked to play today”.
The teams are ranked based on their international ratings. Zimbabwe is ranked 77, Namibia is ranked 78 while Cote D’Ivoire sit just behind them in 79th position. Benin Republic is 83rd in the World, Ghana occupies the 89th spot while Nigeria is 92nd in the world.
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All six teams are competing for three promotional tickets to World Group II. While two teams will be relegated to Africa Group IV, one group will remain in Group III after the round of matches on Saturday, 20 July, 2024.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers and followers up to date on the activities of the Nigerian team as the Davis Cup tournament progresses.