Davis Cup team trains in tough conditions

EVEN with meagre resources, the Davis Cup bound team has continued its preparations at Cercle Sportif. This year, Rwanda is drawn in Group 3 (Euro-Africa) alongside Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Botswana and hosts Turkey. The four-man team includes Jean Claude Gasigwa, Dieudonne Habyambere, Olivier Nkunda and Mathew Uwizeyimana; and has been training under the guidance of Slyvain Rutikanga and Tony Majariwa. “Physically, the team looks good but there is still a lot of work to be done on the technical part of their game,” Rutikanga said. Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis. It is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The world’s 16 best national teams are assigned to the world group while nations outside the world group (like Rwanda) compete in one of three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Europe/Africa). In 2007, Rwanda were relegated to Group 4 but battled their way back to Group 3 last year after finishing 4th in Armenia. Rwanda has never broken into Group 2 but according to Rwanda’s top seed Gasigwa, the team is desperate to go an extra mile in Turkey. For them to do so, Rwanda needs to finish inside the top two after advancing into the ‘promotion pool’. This year, the event runs from April 28-May 3. Ends

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Davis Cup team trains in tough conditions