Despite Hady Habibs wonderful performance to triumph over Dissanyake in five sets, Lebanon fell short of a win as Sri Lankas Mr dependable Godamanna won a comfortable decider over Giovani Samaha.
Sri Lanka came into the final day of their relegation playoff tie against Lebanon with a 2-1 lead after having won both singles on the first day. The question on everyone’s minds was if that 2-1 lead would be significant and the crowds gathered were treated to a world wind of tennis courtesy all four players which made answering that question very difficult until the latter stages of the tie.
Match 1- Sharmal Dissanayake vs Hady Habib
The first match of the day featured the young blood of both sides as the seventeen year old Lebanese player Habib took on the nineteen year old Sharmal Dissanayake. Habib who is a top 100 player in the under 18 world rankings came into the match as the slight favorite. The first set started with both players trading breaks of serve, however as they settled into their own rhythms service breaks were hard to come by for the twosome. At 5-5 Habib had his chance and took it with open arms as he pounced on a few short balls presented by Dissanayake to secure the crucial break. Habibs serve proved to be unstoppable in the next game as he powered past Dissanayake to win the first set 7-5. The second set followed a similar story as Habib served beautifully and managed to secure one crucial break that presented him with the set 6-4.
It would appear that Harshana would need to get on court far earlier than predicted however Sharmal appeared to resurrect himself from the dead as he fought hard to hang in closely with Habib in the third set. At three games all the heat seemed to finally get to the young Lebanese player who was on court for the third consecutive day, leading to him getting a cramp. Sharmal seized the golden opportunity and broke his opponent as the crowd started to believe that a turnaround was definitely on the cards. Dissanayake backed by the crowd, along with some intelligent play where he used high kicking serves to put more pressure on his opponents tired legs enabled him to win the third set 6-4. The gutsy Dissanayake continued to keep his foot firmly on the pedal as he marched on to win the fourth set 6-4.
The skill of both players was undeniable but as Mohamed Ali famously said a champion needs to have will that’s stronger than ones skill and it was the will of the Lebanese player that seemed to be that fraction greater than Dissanayakes. His serve was on song and he backed it up by some powerful hitting off both both the back hand and fore hand wings making it extremely difficult for Dissanayake to have any access to free points. It was a case of two breaks of serve for Habib who came out the eventual winner with a score of 6-3 in the fifth set.
Final score- Hady Habib beat Sharmal Dissanayake 7-5 6-4 4-6 4-6 6-3
Match 2- Harshana Godamanna vs Giovani Samaha
Both players took to the courts knowing that the hope of their respective nations lay completely in their hands. Godamanna has been the rock of Sri Lankas Davis Cup team for a number of years and he lived up to his reputation with a flawless performance. His wonderful serve and heavy groundstrokes were no match for Samaha who was beaten in three straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-3. Godamanna played consistently through out the entire match and was in complete control courtesy his masterful attacking play and amazing court coverage.
Although the decider proved to be one sided it was all in all a wonderful tie that presented plenty of action as well as drama and most importantly scintillating tennis that was a treat to the eyes of all those gathered at the SLTA courts.
The win ensured Sri Lankas place in the Asia Oceania Zone Group 2 of the Davis Cup as Lebanon fall back to group 3 where they would have to fight hard to regain their lost spot.
