Davis Cup absences a chance for uncapped duo

THE country's No1 tennis player, Kevin Anderson, has not turned his back on the SA team, says Davis Cup captain John-Laffnie de Jager.

"There's been a lot of stuff about Kevin turning his back on South Africa," De Jager said yesterday.

"He's not turning his back on South Africa. He's just applying for a (US) Green Card and things didn't work out. He's available to play for South Africa again, and so is Rik (de Voest), but they're not here."

South Africa face Slovenia in a Davis Cup Euro/Africa Group I tie, starting in Soweto on Friday, for a place in the World Group play-offs.

With Anderson and De Voest unavailable, Izak van der Merwe will anchor the team with Davis Cup veteran Raven Klaasen, while the uncapped duo of Ruan Roelofse and Jean Andersen have been called up.

"These are the four guys we are focusing on and I'm very happy with the team," De Jager said.

The renewed responsibility will now fall on the shoulders of Van der Merwe, who said he was confident in his own game and the chances of the home team.

"We're good enough to win this tie, on paper, and hopefully we can use the home crowd to our advantage," Van der Merwe said.

He said he had a special fondness for the Arthur Ashe Tennis Complex, where he won the Soweto Open last year.

"In Davis Cup it's a huge responsibility to play, and when we found out we were going to be playing in South Africa, and when we found out we would be playing here, I was even more excited," Van der Merwe said.

"I've won a lot of matches here where I'm playing number one this weekend." De Jager said his side had enough information on the Slovenian team to know what to expect.