Despite Israel's valiant efforts, Germany's tennis team wrapped up a clear-cut victory in their Davis Cup Qualifying Group I match that was played in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on Friday and Saturday.
Israel's Yshai Oliel and Daniel Cukierman, world-ranked respectively at 531 and 556, pleased the few hundred spectators who enjoyed some sparkling shot-making, although their ability to deliver any surprises against higher-ranked opposition never appeared to be in prospect as German No. 2 player Maximillian Marterer (198) overcame Oliel 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in a battle of two lefties, and Yannick Hanfmann (92) despatched Cukierman 6-4, 6-4.
On Saturday, Germany's Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, one of the world's top doubles pairs, had little difficulty in seeing off opponents Cukierman and Amit Vales 6-0, 6-3 to seal overall victory in the clash.
Israel's newly-crowned national champion, Ofek Shimanov, made a winning Davis Cup debut in the meaningless final match of the encounter to give hosts a slight air of respectability and an overall 3-1 scoreline when he beat Daniel Masur. Shimanov, 19 and ranked below 1,200 in the world beat his German opponent ranked 265 on a match tie-break after the two players each won one set.
Israel was supposed to be the host nation for the event and afford local tennis fans the chance to see their heroes at home, but because a location had to be determined well ahead of the match and before the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon took hold, the International Tennis Federation took it upon itself to host the event at a neutral venue in which neither side was designated as the home team.
Several hundred tennis fans, mostly locals, but some from Germany and from Israel who flew in to support their respective teams, were treated to a weekend of pure, uninterrupted sport that was completely devoid of political protest or disruption. The state-of-the-art SEB Arena racket sports complex in Vilnius, one of Europe's finest facilities and one that would be the envy of many nations, was an ideal venue for the clash that was played on a hard court.
Match exceeds expectations
In the two singles matches, the quality of play was well above expectations, and if the Germans, who were the hot favorites going into the match, were expecting to roll over their Israeli opponents lightly, it did not happen. Friday's play had the spectators riveted by the quality of the powerful shot-making. Neither Oliel nor Cukierman looked as if they deserved to hold a ranking of between 300-400 places lower than their opponents, but it was also fairly obvious that the Israelis would be hard-pressed to deliver the goods when play reached a crucial juncture, as both Marterer and Hanfmann, both physically more imposing players, would be able to raise the level of their game in order to secure victory.
Saturday's doubles clash was completely one-sided as Krawietz and Puetz raced to victory in little over an hour.
The result leaves the Germans, who were missing their two top players, in a position to try to qualify for the finals of this year's competition. They have a second qualifying round match away to Japan, who beat Great Britain.
Israel's opponents for their next clash in September are still to be determined.