Davis Cup captain wary of threat posed by Philippines, Kuwait
Malaysia will face second seeds Pacific Oceania, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Qatar and unseeded favourites, the Philippines, at the National Tennis Centre (NTC).
Only the last two teams standing will earn promotion to Group III next year.
Malaysia is on a mission for redemption after being relegated from Group III last year. It was a crushing moment as Malaysia had never gone lower than Group III in the past.
Adam, who is a former national player himself, is aware that national pride is at stake but made it clear that returning to Group III will not be easy.
"At least five or six of the nations competing in Group IV this year have previously competed as high as Group II in recent seasons," said Adam when met yesterday (July 12).
"Group IV this year will definitely be very competitive. Worldwide, I believe tennis is getting tougher and tougher.
"When I last captained the Davis Cup squad (2018) in Group III, we played Kuwait in the promotional playoff and lost.
"Kuwait have had quality players in the past ranked as high as top-20 in the juniors and top-300 or 400 in the ATP rankings.
"(Besides Philippines) I believe they could also be a factor here this year."
The Philippines tennis federation was suspended by the ITF in late 2020 due to governance issues. The suspension was lifted in January last year which is why they are currently making their way back up from the lower divisions in both men's and women's tennis.
Koay Hao Sheng, Leroy Yong, Darrshan Kumar, Daniel Prickett, Naufal Kamaruzzaman and Devesh Sarawanan have been shortlisted for the Davis Cup squad. The final five-man squad will be announced on Tuesday (July 15).
Adam is pleased with the quality in the squad.
"As I have said before, Hao Sheng will be our key player and he will likely play in both singles and doubles," said Adam.
"As for the second singles slot it is still wide open. All of the other players are evenly balanced, which is a positive for us.
"As for a partner to play with Hao Sheng in the doubles, Leroy, Darrshan and Daniel are all capable of filling the slot.
"The doubles is important, even if we have won the first two singles matches, as it could be taken into account if it (group placing) goes to a countback. Hopefully it does not come to that.
"I will look to rotate the players as we will be playing for four to five days and we need to keep our players fresh."
The draw for the Group IV competition will be held on Tuesday. The nations will be split into two pools.
The top-two teams in each pool will advance to the promotional playoffs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Factbox-Tennis-Wimbledon men's singles champion Jannik Sinner
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 13, 2025 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the men's final against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge (Reuters) -Factbox on Jannik Sinner, who beat defending champion and Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon title on Sunday, taking his overall Grand Slam tally to four. Age: 23 Nation: Italy ATP Ranking: 1 Seeding: 1 Grand Slam titles: 4 (Australian Open 2024, 2025; U.S. Open 2024; Wimbledon 2025) EARLY LIFE * Born in the northern Italian village of Innichen, Sinner began playing tennis at age three. CAREER TO DATE * Began his professional career playing on the ITF Circuit in 2018. * Won the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals by beating Alex de Minaur. Ended the year ranked 78th in the world, winning the ATP Newcomer of the Year award. * Won the 2020 Sofia Open, his first ATP title, and became the youngest Italian to win a tour-level title in the Open Era. Ended the year ranked 37th in the world. * In 2021, he won the Great Ocean Road Open, Washington Open, Sofia Open and European Open. Ended the year ranked number 10. * Reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon 2023 and won his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open. He also reached a career-high ranking of world number four, becoming just the second Italian to reach the top five. * Helped Italy to win the Davis Cup after a gap of 47 years in Nov. 2023. * Beat Daniil Medvedev to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open. * Tested positive for the steroid clostebol in two samples taken in March 2024 but received no suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found the positive tests were due to contamination from his physiotherapist. * Became the world's number one ranked player after reaching the French Open semi-finals in June 2024. * Beat Taylor Fritz to win his first U.S. Open title in 2024. * Won the Shanghai Masters and finished 2024 with his first ATP Finals crown. * Retained the Australian Open men's singles title in 2025. * In February 2025, Sinner accepted a three-month ban following a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal's decision to clear him after the two positive tests in 2024. * Avenged his 2025 French Open final loss against Alcaraz by beating him at the 2025 Wimbledon final, securing his first title at the All England Club. (Compiled by Pearl Josephine Nazare; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
10 hours ago
- The Star
Malaysia ready to go all out at Davis Cup
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia are set to host the Davis Cup tennis tournament for the Asian and Oceania region for the first time since 2015. Malaysia will be joined by Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pacific Oceania, Philippines and Qatar in the tournament which will be held from July 16-19.
New Straits Times
15 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Davis Cup captain wary of threat posed by Philippines, Kuwait
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite being the top seeds and having home ground advantage, Davis Cup captain Adam Jaya has stressed that Malaysia cannot afford to take any nation lightly during the Asia-Oceania Group IV competition which starts here on Wednesday (July 16). Malaysia will face second seeds Pacific Oceania, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Qatar and unseeded favourites, the Philippines, at the National Tennis Centre (NTC). Only the last two teams standing will earn promotion to Group III next year. Malaysia is on a mission for redemption after being relegated from Group III last year. It was a crushing moment as Malaysia had never gone lower than Group III in the past. Adam, who is a former national player himself, is aware that national pride is at stake but made it clear that returning to Group III will not be easy. "At least five or six of the nations competing in Group IV this year have previously competed as high as Group II in recent seasons," said Adam when met yesterday (July 12). "Group IV this year will definitely be very competitive. Worldwide, I believe tennis is getting tougher and tougher. "When I last captained the Davis Cup squad (2018) in Group III, we played Kuwait in the promotional playoff and lost. "Kuwait have had quality players in the past ranked as high as top-20 in the juniors and top-300 or 400 in the ATP rankings. "(Besides Philippines) I believe they could also be a factor here this year." The Philippines tennis federation was suspended by the ITF in late 2020 due to governance issues. The suspension was lifted in January last year which is why they are currently making their way back up from the lower divisions in both men's and women's tennis. Koay Hao Sheng, Leroy Yong, Darrshan Kumar, Daniel Prickett, Naufal Kamaruzzaman and Devesh Sarawanan have been shortlisted for the Davis Cup squad. The final five-man squad will be announced on Tuesday (July 15). Adam is pleased with the quality in the squad. "As I have said before, Hao Sheng will be our key player and he will likely play in both singles and doubles," said Adam. "As for the second singles slot it is still wide open. All of the other players are evenly balanced, which is a positive for us. "As for a partner to play with Hao Sheng in the doubles, Leroy, Darrshan and Daniel are all capable of filling the slot. "The doubles is important, even if we have won the first two singles matches, as it could be taken into account if it (group placing) goes to a countback. Hopefully it does not come to that. "I will look to rotate the players as we will be playing for four to five days and we need to keep our players fresh." The draw for the Group IV competition will be held on Tuesday. The nations will be split into two pools. The top-two teams in each pool will advance to the promotional playoffs.
