Had Canceled, Indonesia Hosted Venezuela In Play Off Group II Davis

JAKARTA – The match between Indonesia and Venezuela in the Davis Cup Group II play-off will be held in Jakarta. Previously, the event had been canceled due to quarantine rules in force in Indonesia.

Indonesia is scheduled to play Venezuela at the Gelora Bung Karno Tennis Stadium, Jakarta, 4-5 March 2022. This match will determine whether Indonesia will stay in World Group II or be relegated to Group III.

Indonesia had to play a play off match after losing to Barbados at the National Tennis Centre, Saint Michael, Barbados. In the match which took place on 17-18 September 2021, Indonesia lost with a score of 1-3.

At that time, Indonesia came down with a young squad in the most prestigious men's team tennis championship in the world. The only victory achieved by Indonesia at that time was through Justin Barki who won over Kaipo Marshall.

In the match against Venezuela, Achad Imam Maruf and Nathan Anthony Barki will be debutants in the Red and White squad. They complete the team consisting of Christopher Rungkat, M. Rifqi Fitriadi, and M. Althaf Dhaifullah.

Victory in that match will save Indonesia to stay in its current position. However, if they lose, Christo and his friends will be thrown into Group Ill for the Asia Oceania Zone.

Indonesia is lucky enough to be spared from European teams since Group II has a worldwide format. Two years ago, the Red and White squad also qualified for this round after beating Kenya 4-0 in the same arena.

Venezuela is ranked 57th and is the third seed in the inaugural meeting with Indonesia in this World Cup of Tennis event. Meanwhile, Indonesia is in position 65 or the highest among 12 other non-seeded teams.

Although not superior, Indonesia's chances of winning are quite large because they are competing at home. Christo will still be a key player because he has statistics as the most total wins (39-17) and most singles wins (24-12) in the team.

He also has a chance to equal Bonit Wiryawan's record as most doubles win (16) through this match. It's just that the Christo pair in the doubles number was not in the absence of David Agung Susanto.