France on Fire, Serbia to the Wire

Well, that didn't go too well for Switzerland. Well done, Kazakhstan, but Switzerland, really?

Enough about that. I suppose the playoffs pale in comparison to the real deal, the semi-finals, and I probably should at least mention that they're happening.

The regular Davis Cup heroism of David Nalbandian could not save Argentina this time - they have been absolutely taken apart by the French team. It would not be unfair to say, I think, that France are on fire. And given that the level of tennis talent in France is nothing short of immense, it is not unfair to say that they should always be on fire. They should be a fixture in the finals, not breaking a major drought.

But now isn't the time to lambast them - now that they have actually made good for once. France are a super deserving finalist for this year's Davis Cup - taking out Argentina and, moreover, Spain, is nothing to sneeze at. Their draw has been many things, but cupcake-y is not one of them. Allez!

And then there is Serbia vs the Czech Republic, and a tighter tie it would be hard to imagine. If Serbia had had Djokovic on the first day, one might imagine that the whole thing might have been a lot less tight. But no, Serbia have to win both matches on the final day to go through.

And they so easily could have been out in straights like Argentina - if Serbia go through to the final this year, they need to give Janko Tipsarevic a ticker-tape parade. His win over Berdych was some of the best clutch play around. And now the Czech Republic may be up a point, but if Djokovic can make good on his ranking and beat Berdych, and if Tipsarevic can keep his level up against Stepanek, well... what a tie this could end up being!