NEW DELHI: The Togo team arrived for the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie here at the DLTA Complex, without much fanfare.
The Togo players may not have any impressive world rank to boast, but once they got to business on the hard court for a spell of training, they showed that they could hit the ball as well as anyone.
Strong and athletic, the Togo players Thomas Setodji, Liova Ajavon and M’lapa Akomlo were quite fluid with their tennis and very impressive with the intensity of their training, under the guidance of captain Alisama Agnamba. The president of the Togo Tennis Federation, Mawuli Ahialey expressed delight about visiting India for Davis Cup. He hoped for a large audience for the tie on February 1 and 2, even if they all be Indian fans, so that Togo could show its African style of play.
“We know that India is a strong team, and has rich history in Davis Cup, having reached the World Group finals a few times. Our players are not professional tennis players, but they teach and coach tennis. One of our players is coming tonight from the USA. We will try to play our best,” said Ahialey.
Even though Togo had entered the Davis Cup in 1990, it was off the circuit after 2003, till it returned to the World Cup of tennis in 2022.
Quite remarkably, Togo has won 10 of its 11 ties on return, reaching the World Group play-off this time, after beating Latvia (4-0) and Indonesia (3-2).
Thomas Setodji is their main player, and the only player with a world rank, a modest 1258 in singles and 1688 in doubles. Agencies
Also Read: Nick Kyrgios set to return to Australia's Davis Cup Team after 5-Year
Also Watch: