Substitute captain warns

Heavy blow for Austria’s opponents

Substitute captain Alexander Peya will stand in for Jürgen Melzer in Bad Waltersdorf.(Bild: ÖTV)

It all starts in three days: Austria's Davis Cup team takes on Turkey in the Tennis World Group I at the Sportaktivpark Bad Waltersdorf on September 13/14. Following the absence of ÖTV sports director and Davis Cup captain Jürgen Melzer, who underwent an operation on a kidney colic, Alexander Peya will take over the coaching duties.

"In this exceptional situation, it was immediately clear that I wanted to replace and support him here," said Peya, not hesitating for a second to accept the position of stand-in captain. "If you know and have followed my personal attitude to the Davis Cup, then you know how important this team competition is to me."

Local hero Filip Misolic is the clear favorite with Austria.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

There will be no room for his own ego on the coaching bench: "It's about giving the players a good feeling, supporting them in the best possible way, with everything that each player needs individually so that they feel comfortable on the court and can perform at their best. If you look at the paper, we are of course the favorites. Nevertheless, I don't think we should underestimate the Turks under any circumstances," warned Peya.

Changes for the Turks
The visitors from the Bosporus had to make changes to their line-up. Ergi Kirkin, Turkey's current number one, is suffering from hip problems and did not even make the trip to the East Styrian thermal and volcanic region. The number two - Cem Ilkel - was therefore called up, while Yanki Erel, Altug Celikbilek and Cengiz Aksu remain in the squad. Koray Kirci has also been added to the squad, bringing it up from four to a maximum of five.