Phillip Henning, Alec Beckley set for key singles battles as SA face Montenegro in Davis Cup playoff

South Africa's top seed, Phillip Henning has been drawn to face Montenegro's No 2 seed Aleksa Krivokapic in their Davis Cup World Group II playoff at Irene Country Club in Centurion on Saturday morning.

In the second singles showdown, SA's No 2, Alec Beckley, will take on Montenegro's  No 1, Petar Jovanovic. 

In the doubles tie on Sunday, Thando Longwe-Smit and Kris van Wyk will square off against Krivokapic and Jovanovic ahead of the reverse singles rubbers.

While top-ranked Henning had been expected to earn the No 1 spot in the SA team, Norval said  at Friday's draw at Irene Country Club that it was not an easy decision to pick the No 2 singles player. Longwe-Smit was rewarded for a strong performance against Morocco, but it also wasn't easy deciding who would partner him in the doubles contest, though Norval could still make changes to the doubles pairing ahead of Sunday's match.

"Everybody is playing well and it was actually tough to make a selection for that number two (singles) spot. I ended up choosing Alec (Beckley) just for the fact that he's played a lot of matches recently," Norval said.

"Thando (Longwe-Smit) is almost like a leading doubles player for me, and then I had to decide who plays with him, but Kris (van Wyk) got some good results in doubles last year. He struggled with injury quite a bit but he's back and healthy now."

Henning, who missed the Renault South Africa team's previous tie against Morocco, as did Van Wyk, said he was happy to be leading the national side again and he hoped to get them off to a good start in the opening match in front of a sold-out crowd at Irene Country Club on Saturday.

"There's always expectation and a little bit of pressure in any Davis Cup tie or match you play, but it's these moments you train for, and these moments you want. Growing up, it's these moments you look forward to, so I'm going to take it up. I'm ready for the challenge," Henning said.

"I'm just trying to focus on my game, treat it as another tennis match, and try stay locked in to the match, not focus too much on what's going on around me. .. and I'm looking forward to the vibe and the atmosphere."

Montenegro captain Rrezart Cungu felt his side had adjusted well to the conditions ahead of the tie, as the visitors looked to pull off a surprise win against the higher-ranked home team.

"We've had a nice few days preparing here and we can't wait to get started," Cungu said.

"We have quite a young team with a lot of potential for the future. All our players are still in college (in the US) but they are motivated and they've done well in training this week. I think it's going to be a good battle over the next two days."

Play will start at 11am on Saturday and at 10am on Sunday.