Orest TERESCHUK: “The choice between Orlov and Ovcharenko was difficult”

Captain of the Ukrainian men’s tennis team Orest Teresçuk In a comment by Sport.ua, he talked about the tactical decisions that helped to confidently beat the Lebanese team in the Davis Cup (3: 1), and also admitted why he left the captain’s post in 2011.

Note that the match against Lebanon was the tenth for Tereshchuk in captain status, he won six of them.

– How did you feel after returning to the captain’s position in the national team after all these years?

– The first thing that comes to mind is excitement. Then I came to the team where I was a player, I knew the guys very well, I had a certain authority. Many years have passed, now another generation. There was excitement, but after the win, I thanked the boys for giving me the opportunity to convey my thoughts to them and for accepting it. As a result, the excitement turned into a routine.

– When did you receive an offer for the captaincy?

– More than a month before the match against Lebanon.

– Why was Alexander Ovcharenko, the highest rated player of this team, not included in the match schedule? How did you decide who to wear on the first day?

– I’ll start with the fact that, due to tactical nuances, I decided to put Belinsky more on the opponent in the first issue. Slava can make his opponent spend a lot of energy. A viscous and diverse player, he can play in both defense, counter attack and offense. Also, Belinsky likes long drawings, and we hoped Benjamin Hassan wouldn’t like them very much. Judging by his behavior, play and tactics, the Lebanese wanted the draws to be shorter. Our tactic worked.

As for the choice between Orlov and Ovcharenko, it’s more a matter of psychology. During the week I had several conversations with Sasha, she was very worried, she was looking forward to her debut in the national team. That’s why I leaned more towards Vlad because he had already experienced the stress of a live match and had a failure. They both looked good in training, it was a tough choice but I made it in Vlad’s favour. Also keeping in mind that on the second day when Sasha looks at his opponents we will talk to him and if you need to play a live match he will have the opportunity to choose his opponent. From the very beginning we talked to him about the need to prepare for the next day.

– Our next opponent will definitely be harder. Do we have a chance to strengthen the squad before this match?

– The next match is in September and until then it is unknown who will be better in the standings. It’s clear that the captain and everyone else is interested in the best players playing. It is not known what will happen next, especially since we only have an agreement with the federation for one match. I also spoke with Andrei Olegovich Medvedev about this, we are in contact.

– You left the national team in 2011 after three defeats in a row. Was this decision purely based on sporting results or were there other reasons?

– I remember this moment very well. I wrote an explanation outlining why the captain change is necessary. It was about results, I did not complete the task. Moreover, we returned to the “second league” from where we managed to rise. At that moment, I thought the guys needed someone else. We spent many years together, I was both the player and the captain. I felt like they needed to listen to someone else. I also thought that I made a mistake in the strategic plan in the Slovakia game. I had big doubts, I made my choice and it didn’t work. Therefore, I wrote a statement, said goodbye to the guys, they began a new phase. Still, I had very good relations with the federation management and the players.