Mixed result for Sri Lanka against Thailand in Davis Cup

By Shannon Jayawardena

At the 2018 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas held during 3-4 February, Sri Lanka gave a hard fight winning the doubles match against Thailand, yet lost the next two singles of the series. They will face Indonesia in the second tie on 7-8 April.

The first round tie between the two countries concluded at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) clay courts with Sharmal Dissanayake and Yasitha de Silva bagging an easy victory against Palaphoom Kovapitkted and Sanchai Ratiwatana of Thailand at 6/3 and 6/4 accordingly.

The Thai team missed star player Sonchat due to sudden illness, which proved to be of advantage to the Lankan team, as Dissanayake and de Silva managed to finish the match with a win in just over an hour. 

Dissanayake, who displayed a fresh and studious play of tennis, went on to defeated Jirat Navasirisomboon at 6/4 and 7/5 on the first day of the competition.

The team that was promoted to Group two from Group three of the competition after an unbeaten record achieved by the players in June 2017 continued to showcase their vigor and talent, yet lost the remaining two singles of the day.

Alex Fairbanks was beaten by Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul at 7/5 and 6/0 while Yasith de Silva was beaten by Jirat Navasirisomboon at 7/5 and 6/2 respectively. Thailand won the tie as they managed to clinch three singles matches.

Philippines who beat Indonesia on 4 February in Jakarta will face Thailand on 7-8 April while Sri Lanka will face Indonesia whom they lost to at last year’s Davis Cup, failing to win at least one single in the entire tie. Hence the game is expected to be a tight and nerve-racking one.