Exciting, hard-hitting Michael Agwi will lead the Irish tennis team which takes on Tunisia in the Davis Cup in Tunis on September 13th and 14th.
Agwi made a big impression on the Irish tennis public with his performances against Austria in Limerick earlier this year.
And so, for this world group II tie, he is named along with Osgar O’hOisin and Conor Gannon who also played against Austria, with Ammar Elamin and Freddy Murray completing the Irish line up. The winners of the tie will earn a place in the World Group I playoffs in February 2025.
Commenting on the team’s hopes of achieving that, captain Conor Niland said:
“As a team, we are very excited to compete for another shot at the World Group I play-offs. We will have a good blend of younger players and experienced ones in Tunisia, and as always, we will do everything we can to get a win for Ireland.”
Tunisia will go into the tie as favourites given home advantage and the presence of experienced and ranked players such as Aziz Dougaz (227 singles), Moez Echargui (412 singles) and Skander Mansouri (65 doubles) in their nominated team.
The Irish players have been improving their rankings this year however Michael Agwi has moved up to 499 in the last 7 months, having reached 4 future singles finals, and winning 3, in addition to winning his first doubles title. Michael also defeated players in the top 300 to reach the quarterfinals of his first Challenger in Germany in March.
Conor Gannon has also made progress, earning his first ATP points after a successful season for Memphis University. Conor made the quarterfinals in his first futures event of the summer before a narrow defeat to Croatia’s Luka Mikrut (391). More recently Conor reached the quarter-finals of the singles and semi-final of the doubles at the AIG Irish Open in Carrickmines, beating Poland’s Filip Peliwo, formerly ranked 161, in straight sets, on his way to the last 8 in the singles.
Freddy Murray meanwhile earned his first ATP points at the Carrickmines event, having finished a strong season at University of North Carolina, Asheville, where he finished second on the team in singles wins.
The Irish team for the fixture against Tunisia at the Tennis Club de l’Avenir Sportif de la Marsa, Tunis, Tunisia on September 13 and 14 is:
Michael Agwi
Osgar O’hOisin
Conor Gannon
Ammar Elamin
Freddy Murray
Make sure to follow Tennis Ireland on social media for all the latest action in the lead up to and throughout the tie to get behind the boys in green.