Since its high point in 1983, Irish tennis hasn’t had a day in the sun all that often.
And while we’ll have to wait and see what the weather forecast holds for this weekend of February 3-4 in Limerick, any potential lack of sunshine will be made up for by the large crowds that will gather within the UL . A sports arena that has become much less prominent, namely Davis Cup home ties.
The Irish men’s tennis team has not had the opportunity to host a Davis Cup event on their home soil since the match against Belarus in 2015.
But that long wait is about to end with the arrival of Austria’s powerhouse team in a playoff for a spot in World Group I, the second stage of the international men’s team competition. .
Anticipation has been high since the International Tennis Federation’s draw last September, and it’s only been intensified by how quickly tickets were booked after they went on sale in December. The first allotment of 3,000 tickets sold out within days. time.
The excitement of Ireland fans is very much reflected in the squad that Ireland’s non-playing captain Conor Niland has named in the top five squad, particularly Simon Kerr.
The 24-year-old, who joins the team alongside Osgar Oisin, Michael Agwi and Conor Gannon and plays alongside vice-captain David O’Hare, was a member of the team after missing the crucial World Group II win against El Salvador last September through injury. returned to.
As the tie against Austria approaches, Kerr told RTÉ Sport he believes next weekend will be a showcase for tennis on the island.
“For players like Dominic Thiem and Sebastian Offner to come in and take Irish juniors, Irish tennis lovers, to that level, obviously that doesn’t happen very often,” he said. Told.
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“So I think it’s really important for the whole of Irish tennis to take advantage of this one-off, current opportunity and do a good job of promoting the sport, not just over the two days, but throughout the matches. ”Practice week.
“I think Austria will come from Monday, so I think it’s (important) to get people together on practice days and make the week meaningful and spend as much time as we did.” From a promotion standpoint, it’s possible. . ”
Mullingar-born Kerr was first called up to Ireland’s Davis Cup team in 2018, so the prospect of playing in front of a home crowd will be new for him and his four team-mates.
However, this means that Ireland will be able to stack the deck in their favor to a certain extent, as is the perk of the Davis Cup host nation.
If they choose to draw with Limerick, they will play on hard courts, but Kerr, who prefers that type of court, expects it to be a faster side for the Irish players, who are primarily brought up on astroturf. are doing.
As a result, he hopes this will be something of an equalizer for the underdog in a format that features four singles matches on either side of a doubles match.
“The format of Davis Cup is always adjusted to give the home team a clear advantage, especially the surface of the court and aspects like that are very important in determining the outcome of the match,” he said.
“Obviously, our players have a lot of experience with all the surfaces, but just adjusting the surfaces to our game style gives us a little bit of a cushion.
“And in terms of the home crowd, I’ve never played in a home tie so I think I can speak for all the players when I say it’s a game that we’re all really looking forward to.
“Having said that, all of our relationships have been estranged over the last three or four years, but we’ve worked really hard to stand up and get some good wins in tough environments overseas, so I think that’s a big deal for me. It’s something for everyone to enjoy.” And try to enjoy it as much as possible. ”
Austria, who are in the same tie, are ranked 27th, 23 places higher than Ireland, and will invite Thiem, the aforementioned 2020 US Open champion and former world No. 3, and Offner, who is currently No. 37 in the ATP Singles Rankings. there is a possibility.
“It adds a whole different dynamic.”
Kerr says it will be more important on Limerick’s courts to try to avoid uncomfortable situations for the visitors.
“The reality of tennis is that you can level things out a little bit more, especially on fast courts,” he said.
“It’s easy to hold the serve, and if you can get to three-all, four-all in a set, tennis is very balanced, so you don’t have to worry about a double fault here, a missed return there, or anything like that. If you’re like, ‘You can break serve or break everything,’ all of a sudden you’re set up and the whole flow of the match changes.
“It’s a difficult environment for them (Austria) to come into. They are the big favorites and that brings pressure and our job is to use that pressure as much as possible and make sure that they are in our environment. I think it’s about making it as uncomfortable as possible to be in our turf.
“It adds a completely different dynamic. Davis Cup has had some crazy results in the past from a variety of opponents. Not just in the Ireland matchup, but in other matchups in general, the underdogs definitely do well and the stronger teams on paper upset.”
While the aim is to cause a shake-up and qualify for World Group I, Kerr is also conscious of the need to help grow the sport in Ireland.
His father, former Dublin All-Ireland winner Tommy Kerr, continues to play an important role in his son’s strength and conditioning, and GAA and other sports gave him an outlet as a child. .
But after his mother introduced him to tennis at the age of nine, Kerr the Younger never looked back, from his early starts at Mullingar Tennis Club to the professional ranks.
And he feels it is the facilities and accessibility that will help move the game forward and attract more Irish players. The key is an indoor facility that provides more play opportunities during the winter.
“Honestly, I definitely don’t want to play outside from October or November to March or April,” he said.
“In these conditions you can get better quality training indoors than you would be outdoors during the Irish winter.
“So having more indoor facilities would definitely be in the interest of Tennis Ireland. Whichever way it arrives, once we get those facilities up and running (and that is) definitely a big goal for Tennis Ireland All branches of Ireland who want to grow the game domestically.”