An heroic performance by Amir Weintraub saw Israel's men's tennis team return to the World Group of the Davis Cup after a two-year-absence.
The 25-year-old, ranked 223rd in the world, celebrated his birthday by turning in one of his best ever performances to win the fifth and deciding rubber, as Israel claimed a 3-2 victory over Japan in Tokyo - to cement their status as one of the top 16 tennis nations in the world.
Beating two players who are ranked in the top-100 - including Go Soeda 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, who is 170 places above him on Sunday, Weintraub said: "I think it was a great tennis match, we both played really well and I'm really happy with the result - it's a very good feeling."We may not deserve to be in the World Group when you consider our rankings, but we deserve it because of our heart."
Israel's third point of the tie was won by doubles duo Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich, with the former forced to battle through the pain barrier. Having injured his hip in the second of four sets, Ram said he only continued playing because he didn't want to let his country down. He said: "I haven't felt this bad since my serious back injury in 2002. Yoni and I will have to pull out of our next tournament and I'm concerned this could be a serious injury. Had this been a regular tournament I would have retired, but I couldn't do that in the Davis Cup."
Praising his side for their win, Israel captain Eyal Ran said: "This was an amazing tie, I'm so happy, so proud. We had so many injuries to deal with but everyone fought so hard, all the players on the court were heroes. I'm so glad to win a match like this because I think it shows how much character my side has.
"These guys are hungry to go back to the World Group because we cherish every moment we are there, we feel very honoured to be part of it and I think it's where we deserve to be."
** Israel will host France in the first round of the 2013 competition - which takes place in February.
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Source: http://totallyjewish.com/sport/c-18676/israel-stun-japan-in-davis-cup-win/
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