Team Nigeria will be up against Zimbabwe in the opening round of matches at the Davis Cup Africa Group III event starting in Abuja on Tuesday, July 16.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) referee, Hakim Fateh, made this known during the Captains’ briefing which was held on Monday inside the players’ lounge at the tennis section of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The Algerian official informed that the matches will be starting after the opening ceremony which is scheduled for 9:40 am.
“Match starts at 10 am 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 against each other and one winner will play against one loser. The idea is to keep the competitiveness of the matches,” Fateh said.
Fateh 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 journalists 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 corroborated his coach’s sentiments when he said, “We are ready even if we are asked to play today.”
Zimbabwe, being the number one-ranked nation, will take on Nigeria, the least-ranked country of the six participating countries on the first day of the competition, Namibia will take on Ghana while Cote d’Ivoire will tackle Benin Republic.
The teams are ranked based on their international ratings. Zimbabwe is ranked 77, Namibia is ranked 78 and Cote D’Ivoire sits just behind them in the 79th position. Benin Republic is 83rd in the World, Ghana occupies the 89th spot while Nigeria is 92nd in the world.
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.
