TENNIS/DAVIS CUP:DAYS LIKE this Irish tennis would like more often. The pity of it was that it wasn't televised as two battling performances from Conor Niland and Barry King brought Ireland back from 2-1 down to win their Davis Cup tie against Tunisia yesterday in Riverview.
Niland, controlled and nerveless, and King, happy to feed off the crowd and goad them on to bigger levels of noise, rose to the requirement that they win both singles matches to avoid relegation into the nether regions of international tennis in Euro/African Zone Group Three.
Captain Gary Cahill can only be brimming with the way the two reacted to the pressure.
First up, Niland again set the tone against the Tunisian number one Malek Jaziri. He is a dangerous player ranked 293 in the world, and Niland worked hard for the first two sets but turned them in his favour 7-5, 7-5, then ripped through the third 6-1.
Those first 12 games were of a very high quality and “easily top 100 level”, according to Niland.
The Irish player seemed always to have the measure of Jaziri, returning serve better as the match went on. His return of serve, one of the stronger aspects of his game, fast became an asset, the third one-sided set nicely framing that particular strength.
Anything short of length on the Tunisian’s forehand, Niland quickly learned, came back to him smoking and he worked diligently to keep the African off his stronger side. Jaziri’s conditioning also looked suspect, which also fell into the hands of the super-fit and battle-hardened Niland.
The first set went with serve until the 11th game when the Irish player was threatened for the first time. But typically Niland dug in and retrieved the game before immediately breaking Jaziri for the set.
The 27-year-old Tunisian came out in the second set firing and when Niland dropped his serve in the first game, it looked like the scene was being set for a five-setter. The physiotherapist was then called for Jaziri in the third game and heavy strapping put around his left leg.
But it didn’t seem to hamper his movement and, while he again threatened the Niland serve in the fifth game, the Irishman kept coming back and levelled the match 4-4 before earning three set points in the final game, which he took for a 2-0 lead before storming through the third 6-1.
“I was waiting for a dip but it didn’t really come until the end of the second set,” said Niland. “There were loads of tight games. It was good to get out of those and hang on. I’ve seen him beat guys in the top 100. He is a really talented player. I felt I wore him down a bit in the end, which was good.”
King had rarely played under such pressure in his must-win match against American scholarship student Anis Ghorbel. Crucially, he took the first tight set in a tie-break before hurtling through his opponent in two dominating sets.
That first set win was a huge moment for the 26-year-old and it really swung the match his way. Taking energy from the advantage and the crowd, who provided the best one liner of the day, “The King Speaks”, King then ripped through the second set 6-2 and broke early for a 2-0 lead in the third. By then he had all but broken Ghorbel’s spirit and more importantly saved Ireland from the drop.
“We are too good to play in Group Three,” said Niland.
And so they both emphatically proved.
Davis Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group II play-off: C Niland (Ireland) bt M Jaziri (Tunisia) 7-5, 7-5, 6-1; B King (Ireland) bt A Ghorbel 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-2. Ireland win the tie 3-2.
