A dominant doubles game by the experienced Harshana Godamanne and Sharmal Dissanayake saw Sri Lanka booking their berth in Saturday’s semifinal as they defeated Pacific Oceania 2-1.
Sri Lanka currently playing host to the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group III tie are grouped in Group A along with Syria, Jordan & the Pacific Oceania. The tie consists of nine teams and the top two of each group will meet on Saturday in the semifinals to decide which two countries get to advance to Group II next year.
Sri Lanka faced off against Pacific Oceania during the third day of the Davis Cup 2017 played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts. After a day delayed due to bad weather and some tough competition, Sri Lanka came out on top beating Pacific Oceania 2-1.
The first single was between Harshana Godamanna from Sri Lanka and Heve Kelley from Pacific Oceania. The first set was an easy win for Harshana winning it 6 games to 1. Heve Kelley made a few crucial mistakes during the set, like a couple of double faults and lost the first set being able to win only 1 game. Heve Kelley fought back during the second set although Harshana dominated the set winning all the break points and won the set 6 games to 3.
The second single was between Sharmal Dissanayake from Sri Lanka and Colin Sinclair from Pacific Oceania. Sharmal gave it his best and gave Colin a tough fight but it wasn’t enough as Colin won the first set 6 games to 4. Colin played well and showed off his skill keeping the rallies going and winning the break points along with this the couple of aces he got helped him win the set without too much trouble. The second set was no different as Colin dominated the game and Sharmal began to slow down as the match progressed. Colin won the second set as well 6 games to 4.
Both teams had won 1 match each making the next doubles game the decider. The teams came onto the court with immense pressure to not let their country down.
The final match was between Sharmal Dissanayake and Harshana Godamanna from Sri Lanka playing against Brett Baudinet and Aymeric Mara from Pacific Oceania. The Sri Lankan team did well during the first set getting some points off a couple of aces and dominating the break points. Although the Oceania team did fight back, the Sri Lankan team managed to win the first set 6 games to 3. The second set was won easily by the Sri Lankan team with the duo playing much better than they had before during the day, having excellent coordination and missing very few shots. The Sri Lankan duo managed to win the second set 6 games to 1.
Sri Lanka, having won the deciding doubles match and thus after an exciting day of tennis Sri Lanka beat Oceania Pacific on the 3rd day of the Davis Cup.
With this win, Sri Lanka should be getting their spot in the semifinals confirmed having won the earlier tie against Jordan on Monday.
They will be facing Syria tomorrow and it will decide the ranking for Sri Lanka, whether they would finish 1st or 2nd in the group.
