Czeched at the Door

Another casualty of the Davis Cup week, I have realised, was the much-lauded French side. I wrote last week about how I thought they could potentially win the whole thing, but no - they went down in a bit of a meek effort to the Czech Republic.

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You've got to hand it to the Czech Republic. It's a team with two men, and two men early - everything the Czech Republic did on the weekend can be laid at the door of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. They're certainly not an easy team to beat - but you think that the French team, who have two players in the top ten, could have taken them out, right?

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Wrong. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did his bit for his country, but Gasquet and Llodra failed in the doubles (and where was Gael Monfils? I thought he was supposed to be on this squad!) And the real letdown of the weekend was Gilles Simon. He lost both his singles matches and thus effectively lost his nation the tie.

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I hate pinning blame on just one individual, but the reality is that Simon should beat both Berdych and Stepanek, if rankings hold true. Not that Berdych or Stepanek are easy players to overcome, but he should be able to beat at least one of them, yeah? Especially on this stage, where one is playing for one's country... though that is a two-way street, I suppose, and Berdych and Stepanek have their whole Czech pride behind them as well.

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I was disappointed in France. I was disappointed in Monfils for not showing up, for Simon in not playing well, and in the captain for choosing to play Simon in the crucial fourth rubber when Gasquet might have been a better choice. Jo-W pulled his weight, but the others let him down. Good on you, Czech boys, but go home and have a long hard think about yourself, Frenchies. You need it.

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Today's Results

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Monterrey Open (Monterrey)

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Marion Bartoli def. Li Na, 6-4 6-3