Malta out to outwit GSSE rivals for promotion

Malta's tennis team will have to overcome the challenge of fellow GSSE countries Iceland and San Marino this week if they are to achieve Davis Cup promotion after the draw of the Europe/Africa Zone IV tournament was held yesterday at the Marsa Sports Club.

The eight participating countries were split in Groups A and B with the top two from each pool qualifying to the next stage and automatically earning a place in Zone III next year.

Semi-finals will be played on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

Malta was drawn in Group A with Iceland, San Marino and Uganda. Azerbaijan, Madagascar, Mauritius and Senegal are in Group B.

National coach Rob Tarpey has a relatively young team with singles players Matthew Asciak and Daniel Ceros joined by Philip Zarb Mizzi.

Veteran Gordon Asciak will be making a comeback, achieving an unprecedented father/son combination with Matthew in a Davis Cup squad. Gordon will play in doubles.

Malta start their commitments today at Marsa when they take on Uganda in their opening match at 10.30 a.m.

Despite the balanced draw, Malta Tennis Federation (MTF) president Tony Cilia Pisani looked quite confident in his expectations.

"I think we have a good chance to win promotion to Zone III," the MTF president said. "For the past few weeks, the team trained hard enough to do well in this tournament. I firmly believe we have enough talent to reach our objective.

"It's true, the group is finely balanced but we have to keep in mind that we, too, have some very talented players in the squad coming up.

"Coupled with Gordon's experience we should be a very hard team to beat this week."

MTF secretary David Farrugia Sacco took a more cautious stand.

"It was not the draw that we wanted," Dr Farrugia Sacco said.

"Iceland and San Marino are two of the strongest teams in the competition and our chances of winning promotion depend entirely on our matches against them.

"In GSSE tournaments, Iceland have always been very difficult opponents for us while San Marino and Uganda possess some experienced players who can make the difference in this kind of competition.

"However, I still believe that we have a strong team and our preparation was good... if we play our cards well we can still make it to the top two positions."

Tarpey told The Times that he was pleased with the build-up to the tournament. The fact that Matthew Asciak and Ceros are garnering useful experience on a regular basis abroad will act as a good spur for the team.

"Matthew and Daniel's involvement on the international circuit has certainly boosted their game," Tarpey said.

"It's very encouraging to see how much they have improved as players and their contribution will certainly be crucial for our promotion chances.

"Besides, we also have Zarb Mizzi, a reliable doubles player while Gordon Asciak's huge experience could tilt the balance in our favour in do-or-die situations.

"We also expect some good home support during the week. That could inspire the players to lift their game when needed most."

GasanMamo Insurance are the main sponsors of the tournament which comes to a close on Sunday.