Lloyd Harris leads SA's Davis Cup charge against Israel

Lloyd Harris leads South Africa's charge in their Davis Cup World Group I encounter against Israel this weekend.

Harris, the world No 34, and Ruan Roelofse will compete in the opening round of singles matches on Friday, while Harris will play alongside veteran Raven Klaasen in the doubles fixture on Saturday.

Between them, 39-year-old Klaasen (20 caps), 32-year-old Roelofse (17) and 25-year-old Harris (10) have played 47 Davis Cup ties.

South Africa and Israel have met twice before in Davis Cup, with the Israelis winning both ties 3-2 (in Ramat HaSharon in 2001 and Irene, Pretoria in 2018).

However, the South Africans will start as favourites this time around.

"Everyone knows each other pretty well by this point, and we've had some really good training sessions this week, so we're feeling confident," Harris said.

"It's always special to represent your country and I'm looking forward to another Davis Cup tie. I'm hungry to play at the moment and I want to fight for the result in every match."

With a chance to climb out of World Group II in the international team competition, Klaasen said he was eager to help the team.

Harris, the SA No 1, will face the Israeli team's No 2, Edan Leshem, in Friday's opening singles match, and SA No 2 Roelofse will meet Israel's No 1, Yshai Oliel, in the second singles rubber.

On Saturday, Harris will pair up with Klaasen against Daniel Cukierman and Jonathan Erlich in the doubles, followed by the reverse singles matches.

"Our collective goal is to try and get into the Davis Cup Finals, and I'm hoping to be able to continue contributing towards that cause," Klaasen added.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, because we've got two singles ties first, but when I get my chance I hope I can deliver