LARNACA, Cyprus – Israel’s Davis Cup team will commemorate Ian Froman, a founding father of Israeli tennis who died this week at age 87, before the start of the clash against Ukraine in Cyprus this weekend.
Widely regarded as the nation’s most influential figure in tennis, the South African-born Froman, was a dentist who immigrated to Israel in 1964. He played for Israel in Davis Cup and later captained the team before embarking on a huge project to found the Israel Tennis Centers organization that changed the face of the sport. It served as a breeding ground for the country’s top players over the past half-century and a place where thousands learned the sport. He was later also a chairman and president of the Israel Tennis Association.
Froman, an inspirational speaker who enlisted thousands of people to support the cause of Israeli tennis, was awarded the Israel Prize for his endeavors in 1989, was laid to rest on Tuesday in Kfar Vitkin.
A historic moment
On court on Friday and Saturday, Yshai Oliel and Daniel Cuikerman will lead the hosts in the World Group I clash against Ukraine in Larnaca as they vie for a first win over the visitors at their fourth attempt, following three defeats in their previous meetings in 1999 and 2021 in Ukraine, and in 2017 at Ramat Hasharon.
The match between the two nations, who are both confronting respective warring foes, is being played in Cyprus, instead of in Israel, because of security concerns.
The Herodotou Tennis Academy in Larnaca is the site for the event, which will be played on outdoor hard courts, Israel’s preferred surface.
In a further blow to what might otherwise have been a significant home advantage between two fairly equally matched teams, there will be no spectators to cheer either side, also for security reasons, spelling further disappointment to the home tennis community that very rarely gets the chance to see its players live in action these days.
In the draw held on Thursday afternoon, Israel’s Oliel will open against Ukrainian opponent Oleksandr Ovcharenko, followed by Cuikerman against Vitaliy Sachko. Because of the hot weather, play will begin at 6 p.m.
Israel’s team captain Jonathan Erlich will make his decision about who to name for Saturday’s doubles clash starting at 4 p.m. but he has tentatively nominated Cuikerman and Roy Stepanov to face Ilya Belodorodko and Oleksii Krutykh.
That match will be followed by two reverse singles matches with Oliel nominated to play Sachko, and Cuikerman to close out against Ovcharenko. In the event that the clash will have been decided beforehand, the final match will not be played.
This match appears to be the most openly-contested between the two teams since they first met 25 years ago, with no player among either squad ranked above 350 in the world.
Ukraine’s No. 1 player, Sachcko, 27, is the highest ranked among all players in the event, with an ATP ranking of 386; Oliel, 24, Israel’s No. 1, ranked at 463.
Ovcharenko, 22, Ukraine’s No. 2 player is the second-highest ranked player among both teams at 416, and his counterpart Cukierman, 29, is ranked at 508.
Rankings at such a level usually count for little in Davis Cup play, and based on experience, Israel have the clear upper hand. Oliel, a lefty, has played in 10 singles matches since his first outing in 2017 and has a 5-5 record. Cukierman, who also debuted in the competition in 2017, has a 4-7 losing record in singles but a 6-2 winning record in doubles. Both Ukrainian singles players have each played only once, and have each lost their matches.
Israel’s five-man team is rounded up by Orel Kimhi, 21, (611); Amit Vales, 19, (975); and doubles specialist Stepanov, 25, (301 in doubles).
Ukraine’s three other players are Krutykh, 24, (493); Vladyslav Orlov, 29, (560); and Beloborodko, 23, (1026). Ukraine’s captain is Orest Tereschchuk.