New Irish Davis Cup Captain

Let me start by saying, Congratulations to Conor, he is a great choice for captain.  

Not only will Conor have the respect of the players, because of what he has achieved, but more importantly he will know exactly what they are going through in the heat of battle and be able to offer words of wisdom on how best to deal with the situation.  This kind of experience is crucial.

Conor will also know what our travelling pros will have to deal with and the mental state some of them may arrive to matches with, following wins or losses.  Conor previously wrote a very informative piece for this blog and it is definitely worth a read again.  Click here to do so:

Below is a piece taken from RTE.ie today.

Conor Niland has been appointed as captain of the Irish Davis Cup team for a two-year period.

Niland succeeds Garry Cahill, who resigned from the position late last year after a very successful four-year stint in charge.

The 33-year-old is Ireland’s most successful professional tennis player, reaching a career high ATP ranking of 129.

In 2011 he was the first Irish player to play at Wimbledon in 31 years and he followed that up with a first round appearance at the US Open against Novak Djokovic.

Niland played Davis Cup tennis for ten years and as recently as 2012 under the stewardship of Garry Cahill.

He had a distinguished career for the Irish team, winning 17 of the 29 matches he played in since making his debut in 2000 at the age of 18.

He retired from professional tennis in 2012 and started as coach with the BNP Paribas National Tennis Academy in Dublin City University, a role which he will remain in.

Niland said: "I am honoured to have been named the Irish Davis Cup captain.

"Representing Ireland and being in the team environment of Davis Cup is something I always loved as a player and I am delighted to have the opportunity to coach this team."

Ireland play Belarus in the first round of the Euro/Africa Zone Group II Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in Castleknock Lawn Tennis Club on the 6-8 March. 

Depending on first round results, Ireland could face either Turkey or South Africa in a second round match in July.