Israel’s national tennis team defeated host Switzerland 4-1 in the Davis Cup European Zone B final last week, moving Israel for the first time into the 16-nation final round of competition for the following year’s cup.
Most of the matches in the surprise victory were lengthy and hard-fought. Israeli veteran Shlomo Glickstein defeated Roland Stadler 4-6, 6-8, 8-6, 6-1, 4-3 (retired) when Stadler dove and broke a leg. Then Amos Mansdorf of Israel defeated Jakob Hlasek 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 12-10. In doubles, Hlasek and Markus Gundhardt beat Glickstein and Shahar Perkiss 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.
Israel clinched the best-of-five-match competition with Glickstein’s victory over Hlasek 6-3, 1-6, 8-6, 10-12, 11-9. In the final match, Mansdorf defeated Gundhardt 7-5, 6-3.
The competition was rescheduled to begin last Wednesday, rather than on the weekend, in order not to conflict with Rosh Hashanah. The Israel Tennis Association paid $15,000 to the Swiss to make up for the resulting lost revenue.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
