Piric to Captain Bosnian Davis Cup Team
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – This weekend, University of Miami men’s tennis head coach Aljosa Piric will travel to Vilnius, Lithuania, to coach the Bosnia and Herzegovina team at the Davis Cup.
“To represent your country in front of a hostile crowd on the road is an amazing experience,” Piric stated. “I got to experience that against Finland in Helsinki in 2014, and it is truly an honor. I look forward to leading our guys against a talented Lithuanian team.”
His Bosnia and Herzegovina squad will face off against a Lithuanian squad ranked No. 43 in the Davis Cup rankings. This semifinal match of Europe and Africa’s Group II stage will be played on a hard court, inside the Siemens Arena.
“It’s an important match, third and qualifying round, and it could be the first time Bosnia and Herzegovina qualifies for the Group I stage of competition, so it is very exciting,” Piric explained. “We have a good team, and our guys will be ready and excited to compete.”
Piric returns to the Davis Cup as the team captain for the first time since April 2014, when he led Bosnia and Herzegovina to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Finland in the quarterfinal round of Europe and Africa’s Group II stage.
Piric will lead a squad consisting of the 72nd-ranked singles player in the world, Demir Dzumhur, in addition to Mirza Basic, Tomislav Brkic and Nerman Fatic.
In the first round against Tunisia in March, Bosnia and Herzegovina earned a 3-1 victory earning a spot in the quarterfinal round in July, when they defeated Turkey by a score of 3-1.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Team Nominations
Team Captain: Aljosa Piric
Player: Demir Dzumhur
Player: Mirza Basic
Player: Tomislav Brkic
Player: Nerman Fatic
Lithuania Team Nominations
Team Captain: Rimvydas Mugevicius
Player: Laurynas Grigelis
Player: Lukas Mugevicius
Player: Tadas Babelis
Player: Tomas Vaise
