Niland ready for Davis Cup
CONOR Niland hopes to make a telling impact when Ireland take on Turkey this weekend in the 2010 Davis Cup (Group II - Europe/Africa) - Ireland host the Turkish team at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in the first round of the prestigious tournament which begins on Friday with two singles matches, a doubles encounter features on Saturday while two more singles matches will be played on Sunday.
The Irish team, ranked 55th in the world (Turkey 78th), features Louk Sorensen, Conor Niland, James McGee and Barry King.
Although Louk Sorensen, as Irish number one, leads the team tennis fans across the country will be desperately hoping that Conor Niland can upset the odds and beat Turkish number one Marsel Ilhan in Friday's singles.
Although Ilhan progressed to the first round of the Australian Open and is ranked 129th in the world Conor Niland beat Ilhan when they last met. Last September, when Ilhan was seeded number one for a ITF Futures event in Istanbul, Conor Niland stunned a raucous home crowd by beating Ilhan 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
Conor Niland knows however that he faces a tough test against Ilhan: "He's playing well and made it through to the first round of the Australian Open. He's a good player and he will be tough to beat, there's no doubt about that.
"While we have more depth than Turkey as a team one good player can do a lot of damage," Conor Niland told Leader Sport.
"So, one of us is going to have to beat Ilhan if we are to have a chance of winning the tie. This is going to be a tough competitive match, but if we play well we have a great chance of winning."
Conor Niland's form has seen the Limerick star jump from 285th to 244th (career high 229th) in the world in recent weeks thanks to a series of impressive displays at a Challenger Tour event in Russia and an ATP Tour event in Marseille. In November Niland won his fifth ITF Futures title in Niceville, Florida - the Limerick man also won Futures titles in Limerick, Bournemouth, Wrexham and Croatia. Niland's biggest achievement however occurred when he won the ITF Challenger Tour event in New Delphi in 2008.
And while Conor Niland still hopes to realise his dream of playing in the first round proper of a Grand Slam event the Davis Cup, and playing for Ireland, represents a real highlight of the year for the 28-year-old.
"Oh, it's definitely something to look forward to," Conor Niland said.
"Touch wood, I've had no problems with injuries and I feel that I am on top of my game so everything is going well. The event has been sold out as well so there will be 800 shouting for us each day. Since we have no tournaments in Ireland it's nice to get to play at home for once. It's nice to play in front of your friends and family.
"And, there's always a bit of excitement when you're playing for your country. The Davis Cup is always something I look forward to and this year is no different."
After Friday's singles Conor Niland, depending on the decision of non-playing captain Sean Sorensen, may participate in Saturday's doubles before playing the Turkish number two Haluk Akkoyun on Sunday.
Last year Ireland beat Algeria before losing narrowly to Cyprus. Ireland have faced Turkey on three previous occasions in the Davis Cup with the Irishmen leading the series two-one.
The last time they met, in 2007 when Ireland won 2-1 in Cairo, Conor Niland featured on the team, but didn't take an active part in the tie.
Should Ireland beat Turkey they will then take on the winner of the Great Britain v Lithuania clash in July before facing a play-off in September for their chance to progress to group one.
Limerick star Conor Niland has spent the last couple of weeks training in Tennis Ireland's national training centre in DCU and met up with the rest of the Irish team for a practice session on Sunday afternoon.
After this weekend's Davis Cup clash Niland plans to compete on the Challenger Tour in Sarajevo and Italy before before jetting out to the United States.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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