Linda Moreotsene

Linda Moreotsene

John-Laffnie de Jager, the coach of the South African Davis Cup team, is still to decide his final team to take on Macedonia on Friday at Emperors Palace.

De Jager will decide on the final four before Friday. Basically, he has to choose who between Raven Klaasen and Izak van der Merwe will take the second spot behind number one seed Rik de Voest.

The other two players are doubles pair Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie.

With the country's top ranked player Kevin Anderson not available, the responsibility of spearheading South Africa's attack will rest with De Voest. De Jager, who is also the non-playing captain, has blamed Anderson's unavailability on his heavy playing schedule in the US. He has also picked up an ankle injury.

"It's unfortunate that we won't be able to call on Kevin but I'm happy with Rik's form as we saw him in action at the recent SA Open," said De Jager.

"The players are not under contract as was the case last year, and therefore are entitled to play when they wish. There are times when we'll have to accept that they have points to defend or improve their world ranking."

De Jager said Van der Merwe had the advantage of training and working out in the country for some time, while Klaasen still has to travel back from Australia where he took part in the Melbourne Challenger.

Macedonia captain Vladimir Andonov has said his team was not bothered by the opposition's superior world ranking, as their pride was on the line.