A F%^& YEAH Weekend

There are so many people I want to say F%^& YEAH about today, but first, I have to blow your mind with the last installment of my Cherbourg coverage. It was not good times today - my main man Mahut lost both in the singles final and in the doubles final. But let's take a moment and go, hey, actually, the fact that you were in both of these finals is pretty damn shiny! Then let's holler F^&* YEAH.

My loudest, unconditional and most heartfelt F^&* YEAH, however, has to go out to Jelena Dokic. Lady, you rocked my freaking socks today. How many players are there who can go for eight years without a title and still have the heart to come back? Dokic is a player who has had an awful lot of bad luck in her career - more, I think, than just about anyone else. But one thing she does not lack, especially in this post-Damir world, is heart. And she demonstrated this not just in winning the Kuala Lumpur final, but the way she won it - she was literally a few points from defeat in the second set breaker. She could have gone down tamely in straights, and everyone would have been like, oh well, well done Lucie, what a great week for Jelena.

But no. Jelena Dokic is not having any of that nonsense. She clawed her way out of that breaker and then she pounced. She was a total third set tiger and that got her the trophy. And I don't think it's controversial to say that Jelena has one of the best smiles in tennis. F^&* YEAH JELENA DOKIC!

And then there is Davis Cup.

The Indian boys weren't able to keep the momentum going - they went down 4-1 to Serbia in the end - but I think they deserve a F^&* YEAH anyway, because they have played awesomely this weekend. So too does Jeremy Chardy, who went from not winning a single ATP match all year to being France's Davis Cup hero. I'm not normally a massive Chardy fan, but that kind of heroism (especially from someone stuck so deep in such a big rut) deserves a F^&* YEAH.

But the biggest Davis Cup F^&* YEAH goes to Kazakhstan in general and Andrey Golubev in particular.

I haven't talked much about Andrey this year - largely because his results haven't been that great. (But don't worry, I haven't dumped him for Mahut. I can love them both.) But this match was a powerful reminder of why I love him so much. If he plays well, he is capable not just of beating anyone, but of freaking demolishing them. Doesn't matter where, doesn't matter when, doesn't matter who. If Andrey Golubev has his eye in, he will make you hurt.

Just ask Tomas Berdych.

The Czech crowd were totally stunned. Who was this surprise ranga beating their main man? Berdych was their guaranteed pointmaker for the weekend! He was supposed to win both his singles matches in a snap of his fingers, and just hope that one of the others could pick up another point somewhere. It was supposed to be easy.

But Andrey Golubev was not on board with this idea at all. And four sets later, Tomas Berdych limped off the court, pulverised and broken. And then Mikhail Kukushkin went out there and made history against Jan Hajek.

This was Kazakhstan's first ever appearance in the World Group. If they can continue turning in these kinds of performances, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with. And I, for one, think that deserves a F%^& YEAH.

Indian Summer

I suppose I should talk about Davis Cup today. But in another installment of my mindblowing Cherbourg coverage, can I get a F%^& YEAH NICOLAS MAHUT? He is in the final there, where he will meet top seed Grigor Dimitrov. Nico won this tournament last year, so for points purposes, I would really like him to win it again, but I am very happy that he's a finalist full stop. My man Nico is on fire, and don't you forget it.

Right. Davis Cup.

The most interesting tie - to my mind, anyway - is this one between Serbia and India. From the outset, you might think that this is the most boring of all the ties - I know I certainly did. But even though the Serbs are pretty much on top now, the Indian dudes have BROUGHT IT like whoa. And without Bhupathi and Paes, which is a massive handicap.

Let's recap. Day One singles, first rubber. Viktor 'vile' Troicki lines up against Rohan Bopanna, whom he is expected to beat easily. Troicki is not exactly the captain of the consistency bandwagon, but this looks like an easy one for him. Right?

WRONG.

Bopanna takes him to five. It all seems smooth sailing for the first two sets, but the worm, oh, how it turns! This match so, SO easily could have gone Bopanna's way. And we all know how I feel about Troicki, so I wish it did.

Oh well. It's only natural for a team to get the yips a little, n'est-ce pas? And Serbia came away with the point anyway, so surely we are headed right down 5-0 blowout lane from here. Right?

WRONG.

Janko Tipsarevic walks out on court against Somdev Devvarman. And walks off three sets later a defeated man.

Would that be 1-all? Why YES, it would be. And it so, so easily could have been 2-0 India. A few points Bopanna's way, and...

The Serbs pulled out the doubles on Saturday, but it was a tight, tight thing - 12-10 in the fourth set tiebreaker. And you really, really have to wonder what would have happened if Bhupathi and Paes had been there...

This is basically an object lesson in don't underestimate the underdog. I think the Serbians have been that underdog for so long that adjusting to being the top dudes might have messed with them again. And much as they love the home crowd, probably playing in Serbia - after what happened the last time they played in Serbia - was intense, intense pressure. Last time it was glory, and now the populace expects no less.

But let's be realistic. This one wasn't all on the Serbian racquet. The Indian dudes have played OUT OF THEIR FREAKING MINDS awesome. Bopanna and Devvarman have a lot to be proud of here. And you know what? It's not over yet. And I, for one, will be cheering for Team India all the way.

The other really intriguing tie going on is Croatia vs Germany, where Marin Cilic pulled out an absolute heartbreaker against Florian Mayer only to have Germany take the next two points. But Croatia, with their singles team of Cilic and Dodig, are more than capable of getting two points on the morrow by taking out Kohlschreiber and Mayer respectively... we shall see, we shall see. Oh, and Karlovic beat that fast serve record of Andy Roddick's. Well done, Dr Ivo.

Disappointment of the Davis Cup week is obviously Russia. What an awful performance. Kudos to him for pulling out the win, but no one should really be losing to Joachim Johansson right now. (Out of interest, why didn't Sweden field Nick Lindahl? I thought that was, like, the whole reason he defected.)

Oh, and before I go - MASSIVE shoutout to Jelena Dokic, who is in the final of Kuala Lumpur, where she will take on Lucie Safarova. This is a crazy-excellent result and I hope she is SUPER proud!

And Finally, In The 'Completely Stupid' Category...

It's Davis Cup week. Yawn. At least until Friday, there's going to be pretty much fat nothing to write about. Except the INEVITABLE GLORIOUS RUN of my main man Nicolas Mahut in Cherbourg (antijinx). He is the second seed in the singles (after Grigor Dimitrov) and the top seed in the doubles with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. And they just won their first round doubles match. So... yeah. Awesome.

But due to this very little 'actual tennis' thing I have to write about, I thought I would write about this. It's a study. Possibly one of the worst studies of all time. The formula it uses analyses and tallies up how many wins players had over other 'quality players', regardless of arena, and then churns out a Greatest of All Time.

The GOAT, according to this study of stupidness? Jimmy Connors.

We all know where I stand when it comes to GOATness. If one has to pick, I'm Team Federer forever. But even if this survey had come out and said that yes, Federer is the greatest of all time, their methodology is clearly more than a little specious. Did you know that Federer has only, according to this, won 39 quality matches in his career? So that's eight victories over Rafa, thirteen over Djokovic, six over Murray, eight over Agassi... that's 35. Oh! one over Sampras. Make that 36. Chuck in a few others, and hey presto! Roger Federer has never won anything else ever.

And that's not even starting on the Rafa stats. He's only won 21 matches of quality. Because that's how you win five Roland Garros titles, bitches.

Surely when results like this came out of the study - Connors at #1, followed by Lendl and McEnroe - they should have realised it was a bit, how shall we say it... not very good? I mean, those dudes were great, and they did great things, but the greatest? I think not. If they're the results you're getting, your scale is wrong, bro.

I don't know if it is possible to quantify a Greatest of All Time. But if it is, this is not the right way to go about it.

I wonder how the system decides what a 'quality win' is, as well. Does Federer's victory over Andy Roddick in Wimbledon in 2009 count as a quality win? Because it was pretty freaking spectacular. But Roddick has been his bunny for a while now, so I'm sure that twenty-odd wins against Roddick can't be counted in those 39 wins he's apparently had. There's no regard to situation either, so matches like Roger's AO win over Baghdatis probably doesn't count.

I hope this 'prestige ranking' thing doesn't catch on. Because I am telling you right now that I think it is stupid. And you should all listen to me. Just because.

The Little Nation That Could

You know what? I think I can probably squeeze another day out of Davis Cup blogging after all. So here goes!

Even though, as we all know, I am definitely not Novak Djokovic's biggest fan, I kind of love the story of Serbia and the Davis Cup. It reminds me of Croatia five years back - it's a sort of Little Nation That Could story. It's the story of a country who managed to topple countries much bigger with much deeper pools than they have with what seems like heart alone.

Of course, that isn't one hundred percent true - the Serbian team is totally talented and it's more than just will that's got them this far. But the incredible driving force of the will of the nation - correct me if I'm wrong, but tennis is the most popular sport in Serbia, yesno? - was definitely a big deal.

By rights, France should have taken this one. Serbia may have Djokovic, but France has got about ten dudes in the top hundred (or something similarly ridiculous). And France was also the team that knocked Spain - the nation which is clearly the world's tennis powerhouse at the moment - out of contention. France has the depth which Serbia lacks - while Djokovic is excellent and Tipsarevic and Troicki are very good and Zimonjic is a world class doubles player - if one of them is out, then there are REAL problems. But Serbia - well, it's the little nation that could.

I don't think Djokovic functioned quite in the way that Ivan Ljubicic did for Croatia in 2005 - I don't think he provided quite the same kind of extreme rallying point than Ljubo did, though his matchplay record is clearly comparable. No, the Serbian triumph was, I feel, much more of a team effort. I feel almost a bit bad for Djokovic, actually, because his excellence was sort of assumed. It was just sort of assumed that he would win both his singles rubbers and that the team would try and take care of that one remaining point... and the people that did take care of that point were the ones who were the heroes (Tipsarevic in the semis, Troicki in the final.) The Ljubicic story was almost the story of How One Man Won The Davis Cup (with a bit of help from Mario Ancic). The Serbian narrative is different.

But I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that it was this way. Actually, I think it's a good thing that the Serbian victory has been a team deal. Novak Djokovic winning a big tournament? Well, that's not that exciting. But a tiny nation with a handful of talented players and a whole lot of heart winning it? Now that is a story.

Adje!

We're having a rest day today in honour of the Serbian Davis Cup win. And also because, even if I had time to write something, I don't have anything write about. So have a glass of champagne for the Serbian Davis Cup team and see you tomorrow!

Superb Serbia

Well, I did not expect this. I would have sworn that France was going to win this one. I was convinced that Llodra would have the guns to pull through and that Monfils might get a sneaky one in over Djokovic. But I was totally, utterly wrong. Sorry about that, Serbia. And congratulations.

It's hard to pick a hero for this tie - I mean, you can safely say it wasn't Tipsarevic, but beyond that, not so much. You really do have to go with Djokovic, I think, who won those crucial two points and gave Troicki a fighting chance going into the fifth and deciding rubber. You can throw Troicki's name into the ring as well - he did, after all, win that rubber - but his serve was the yippy one in the doubles. So Novak gets the honours, I think - but it was a big team effort.

Let's talk about the two matches for a second. I think they both would have been terribly anti-climactic - especially after the epic doubles match - if it wasn't, you know, the Davis Cup final. I definitely wasn't expecting Djokovic to put the hurt on Monfils the way he did. I definitely was expecting more from Monfils than he brought. It seems like he left it all on the court against Tipsarevic... he should have saved some up for this match, because with the way Tipsarevic was playing, he didn't need to use it all then.

I think the crowd definitely drove Djokovic on, but I think it also negatively affected Monfils... which it didn't in the first match, so I found this surprising. I thought that Monfils sort of enjoyed being the antagonist then. Today... not so much. Maybe it's different because it's Djokovic. I don't know. But Gael won't be too happy with himself.

And neither will Michael Llodra, and I am really sad about this one, because I would have totally backed him against either Troicki or Tipsarevic. Unlike Obradovic, I would have played Tipsarevic here, but his choice was obviously a good one, because it paid off big time. Troicki had the match of his life out there. He was definitely spurred on by the crowd here, because he had an absolute blinder. I have never, ever seen him play that well.

...and I can't remember the last time I saw Llodra play so poorly.

This one breaks my heart, because I am in love with Llodra's game. He epitomises French tennis - the flair, the style, the everything. But today he epitomised the bad side of that - the erraticness. And it was horrible to watch.

This is the kind of match that can break a man, and I will be so, so sad if it breaks Llodra. He is so much better than this. He has so much more ahead of him. Here's hoping he can just put Davis Cup behind him and rock 2011 like the French tennis god he is.

But for now, congratulations to Serbia. Talk about a fairy tale.

Serbia Gets Slapped

Okay. Now we have some action. A fightback from two sets down? That is what I'm talking about.

I bet Obradovic is fiercely glad he didn't play Djokovic here, even though the Serbs didn't get the point, because if Djokovic had gone five sets today? No way he'd be up to it against Monfils tomorrow. That just wouldn't be happening.

Troicki and Zimonjic put up a good match here - they won the first two sets, after all - but they're both going to be bitterly disappointed. To lead two sets and then go down, in front of a home crowd? Geez. That is like a slap in the face with a fish and no mistake. And if I'm Nenad 'I love doubles' Zimonjic, I am a bit annoyed about being let down by the weak serving of my partner. Because that, at the end of the day, was the clincher. So in that sense, maybe Obradovic is regretting he didn't play Djokovic. I doubt he would have got as yippy as Troicki did.

But let's talk about the dudes that really pulled it out. Clement. Llodra. I love these dudes. They might be one of my favourite doubles teams ever. They are GOOD TIMES. I don't really have a side I'm pulling for in this tie, but in terms of this match? I was pulling for these two all the way. Forget did a really good job putting these two together - though I doubt it was a rocket science decision.

What I always admire in a comeback like the one they pulled is the ability to not panic and to not give in. It must be so easy to fold when you're two sets down - the way back seems insurmountable. But for Arnaud and Michael? Not so much. They rocked it. And I bet that Serbian crowd was NOT happy.

This leaves us in a very interesting place for tomorrow. The long and short of it is that if Djokovic loses, Serbia are screwed. But let's assume that rankings hold and Djokovic beats Monfils (even though I have a sneaky suspicion Gael might pull that one out). The fifth rubber is due to be contested by Tipsarevic and Simon. But will it actually be these two?

If I'm Forget, I'm definitely considering picking Llodra, even though he played five sets today. Simon was overwhelmingly disappointing in the first singles rubber... but then, he was playing Djokovic. Llodra has had a great time of it lately and should be high on adrenaline, if on nothing else. So despite the five sets, I'm going Llodra.

But if I'm Obradovic, I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place. Troicki was definitely the weak link in the doubles, and he's coming off five sets. But then Tipsarevic was terribly disappointing in the first singles match. Neither option is particularly attractive. Yesterday, I would have got Troicki in a second. But today, I think I'm leaning towards Tipsarevic. Maybe he can make something happen through talent alone...

A Meh Beginning

Davis Cup seems to have come around surprisingly quickly this year, yesno? I remember getting tons of mileage out of it in the offseason last year. But no matter. It hasn't been especially interesting yet, so it probably doesn't deserve the space.

So we've had the singles match - Djokovic vs Simon and Tipsarevic vs Monfils, and we're locked at 1-all after two straight sets victories. While this could lead to a very exciting finish - a live fifth rubber could be awesome! - the day was somehow not that exciting.

I'll start with the second match, which was Djokovic/Simon. I'm not sure why Guy Forget played Simon here. Maybe he thought that there was no hope of winning this match anyway so he sort of tanked it a little bit? I would have played Llodra for sure. Simon never had a chance in this match, as you would well expect. There was a little excitement when he saved match points to break back to 5-5 in the third set, but then he got broken straight back, so meh. That's a good word to sum up this match, actually: meh.

It also sums up the performance of Tipsarevic. I think that, like Obradovic, I would also have picked Tipsy over Troicki here, but he just did not bring it. Monfils has had a screamer of a summer but there definitely isn't the mismatch element going on here that there was in the Djokovic match. I probably would have picked Monfils to win (if I'd realised Davis Cup was even coming up - oops) but Tipsy should have at least got a set here, I think.

Maybe he was nervous in front of his home crowd. Maybe he is just not in form. Maybe it just wasn't his day. Whatever the reason was - or whether there is a reason at all - I expected a bit more from Tipsarevic. I expect that Troicki will be played on Sunday. Llodra, too.

Excellent performance from Monfils, though. There is every possiblity that Monfils/Djokovic could be an absolute scorcher on the weekend - and if Djokovic plays doubles and doesn't get the rest, then 'meh' could be the last word on my mind.

Perfect Pat

So the new Australian Davis Cup captain has been announced. John Fitzgerald is stepping down after ten years at the helm (including a memorable victory in 2003) and the new dude is...

...Pat Rafter.

And Jodi says this: what a sweet choice.

Seriously, I cannot imagine how they could have made a better choice for captain. Pat Rafter will be 100% awesome. I'm not a fan of the player captain, but I really do love the idea of the young captain, and I think Pat fits that niche perfectly. He's young enough to have played with some of the team (i.e. Hewitt) and isn't so far off the tour that he completely can't relate.

He's also a public figure - much more so than John Fitzgerald - and if he can raise the profile of Davis Cup, I think that will be a good thing. Added to which he is a totally awesome guy whom people really look up to and an excellent statesman for the sport and stuff. He's charismatic and I really think he'll spur the team on to better things. Like getting in the World Group, for example.

In addition, Tony Roche is coach. Great pick. Well played, Tennis Australia!

One Step Short... Again

I would really, really be lying if I didn't say that I was disappointed.

Belgium was an eminently beatable opponent for Australia. But once again, we proved that we just really don't have the depth. Rochus, Darcis and Bemelmans really does not make a worldbeating Davis Cup team - nowhere close. But apparently Hewitt, Luczak and Ball... well, that's even worse.

It really highlights the dependency of the Australian team on Lleyton Hewitt, which is incredibly dangerous. Even if he'd been able to play, I don't think he would have had much success - he came so close to losing to Bemelmans that I really didn't see him coming through Rochus. But Luczak should have been able to make things happen. And Ball... well, I think people just expect a lot more of him than he's capable of, to tell the truth. He and Guccione make a great doubles team, but I just don't know if he's ever going to be any more than that.

Australia really can't rely on Lleyton. He's been so good for so long, but come on, the dude's been on his way down for years. We can't manufacture talent out of nowhere, but we need to stop pinning all our hopes on one guy so much - it's not fair to him. This is exactly what is going to happen to Bernard Tomic and Jason Kubler, if they ever make good on their respective immense talents - reliance, to the detriment of the squad. And then we're going to end up like the UK, losing to Lithuania.

I suppose there's nothing really you can do. If you don't have the players, you just don't have the players. And I think the venue decision was as smart as it possibly could have been - the hot, steamy conditions of Cairns should really have benefited the Australians. But it just didn't happen. Story of Davis Cup in Australia for a long time now.

The New Ivan

A 5-0 loss, Switzerland? Really? Really?!

We are SO not speaking.

But Serbia! How about you?! Novak Djokovic, you done good, but how about you, Janko Tipsarevic? You are a freaking HERO.

This is going to be a really interesting final. France have the talent to beat just about any squad in the world - scratch that, France can beat anyone if they play well. They have amazing depth and an ability to substitute quality players that only Spain can really come close to matching. I mean, look at the talent in their stable - Monfils, Gasquet, Tsonga, Llodra, Benneteau, Clement... and that's just off the top of my head. Those Frenchies can play.

But the highest ranked player in that tie is going to be Novak Djokovic, and unless Tsonga is back and playing awesomely, I don't see him getting beaten in either singles rubber. And Janko Tipsarevic, well... if he can beat Tomas Berdych in a clutch singles rubber and then come back a couple of days later and win a live fifth in convincing fashion... such is the stuff that Davis Cup heroes are made of. That is Ivan Ljubicic level stuff right there. And Janko, I think you just might be the new Ivan.

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!

Davis Cup Dampener

I am a great fan of the tennis nation of Kazakhstan. It might seem cold and corporate to some, but I like the fact that they care enough about their tennis prowess to go and buy players like Golubev and Korolev and Shvedova to play for them. I appreciate that they care that much about tennis.

But I do, I confess, get a little bit upset when they go and take a 2-0 leave in a relegation tie over my beloved Switzerland.

The Big Swissie isn't there, of course - understandably, due to the whole semis in New York thing (see yesterday's rant) - but Stan Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli are. I expected Golubev to beat Chiudinelli - we all know that Golubev is a) awesome and b) one of my special favourites, making him even more awesome - but Stan? losing in five sets to Mikhail Kukushkin?

Excuse me while my eyes fall out of my head in surprise.

Stan, following you can be incredibly frustrating. Quite aside from your being second banana to my beloved R-Fed, I like watching you play - your backhand is artistry. If you and Gasquet ever played a backhand exhibition match, I would so be in that. I was super happy when you made the quarters of the US Open - that is genuinely a fantastic result.

But it kind of puts a dampener on it when you go and pull a stunt like this.

Despite the fact that Davis Cup is really, really hard to care about, I'm really genuinely annoyed with this result. And I'm a bit annoyed with R-Fed for not playing. Switzerland should be kicking Kazakhstan's arse in this tie and it's just not happening. The whole missing Roger and brainfarting Stan thing is leading to a real misrepresentation of the tennis prowess of Switzerland, and that is frustrating. (Now, if they changed the scheduling and the format...)

But that, I suppose, is the nature of tennis.

Under the Carpet

Guess what time it is! Here is a blog post you have read before - many times before - but which I still find myself writing every single damn time this thing comes around.

Davis Cup, honey, if you want people to take you seriously, your scheduling has to change.

I know there are definitely players that take the Davis Cup seriously. Everyone loves playing for their country, right? But Davis Cup is the only time players (well, male players) get to play in a team in this sport, yesno? It's special. It needs more prestige. You want your big guys playing it - and moreover, you want them thinking that it's important enough to play.

This is why you don't schedule it the week after a Slam when those players have just been in the finals and semi-finals and are absolutely exhausted and want to sleep for a hundred years. It is just not clever.

I'm not the only one to put this proposal forward and I won't be the last - set aside two weeks for Davis Cup, well away from any of the Slams. Hold it in a different venue each year if you like - maybe it could be held in the country that won the tournament the year before? And play it like a Slam - teams playing every two days, getting knocked out as they lost.

Maybe there would not then be the need for five rubbers. Maybe it would be best of three rubbers. And yes, maybe that would be controversial. But at least you'd get people playing those three rubbers. And you could do it with a squad of players - maybe as many as six - and you could deploy whoever you wanted. The two highest-ranked nominated singles players of each squad would play each other, then the two lower-ranked ones, and then there would be doubles. And it would be awesome. You could even make it best of three sets if you were that way inclined, but I think you could stay with best of five.

And obviously the same model could apply to Fed Cup. Davis and Fed Cups would then become events, real spectator sports, and would feel a lot more like a competition. Because at the moment, they're both being swept under the carpet.

A Little La Monf

You know who is looking a little bit good at the moment, formwise? Gael Monfils. And there's something you don't hear said a lot.

I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that Monfils is one of the most talented guys on tour. He's also probably one of the best athletes in the world (I read somewhere that France puts all its athletes through some kind of crazy tests, and Monfils broke records in all of them.) When he's on, he's on. But he's the sketchiest damn player you ever met. He is worse than David Nalbandian (at least you know he's going to turn up for Davis Cup) and maybe on a par with Marat Safin. You never which Gael will show.

He hasn't really done anything much particularly remarkable this year. Not that I've noticed anyway... until this week. First, he plays like a gun in Davis Cup to help secure a huge win for France over Spain. And now he's tearing it up in Stuttgart.

Well, I say 'tearing it up'. He lost a set to Pablo Andujar. Maybe this is a little optimistic. But there is cause for optimism whenever Monfils strings a few matches together. It will be interesting to see whether he can close out this tournament. If he does, then... maybe we will be in for a rocket of a summer.

Or maybe not. It is Monfils, after all.

Talent Isn't Everything

As I have absolutely nothing else to talk about, I'm going to talk some more about Davis Cup. And what I have to say is this: if France don't win it this year, they are missing a huge opportunity.

Think about it. They have beaten Spain, the out and out favourites. They have so many players who can be so good on any given day... but who can also be terrible on any given day. If they all come out firing - can you imagine a France with a switched-on Jo Tsonga and Gael Monfils playing singles? - then nothing short of a miracle can stop them.

Of course, they're playing Argentina in the semis, and the Argentinians have a miracle up their sleeves. He goes by the name of David Nalbandian, and as just about any Davis Cup playing nation can tell you, he can derail the fiercest of challenges. But he is but one man, and the French squad is packed with talent.

What the French squad is not packed with is consistency. If they could find this like they did against Spain, they would be unstoppable. There are reasons why one man squads like Nalbandian's Argentina and Djokovic's Serbia can do so well, and that is maximising the consistency of a star player. France have a whole bunch of stars... but none of them seem to shine at the same time.

I hope, for their sake, much as I want Bandy to do well at this Cup they call Davis, that all the French guns fire in the semis. Because to have that much talent in a tennis nation and not have anything to show for it? That is a bit of a tragedy.

Bandy Shining

What is it about Davis Cup that brings out the best in David Nalbandian?

Seriously, the dude has missed, what, the last six Slams? He has been effectively absent on the individual tennis stage for about two years, ever since he went on that tear and won, like, the entire indoor season. But the second Davis Cup rolls around, Nalbandian is beating everyone in sight.

It reminds me a bit of Ljubicic, that year when he led Croatia to a big damn victory by winning just about every rubber he plays. Juan Martin del Potro may be Argentina's best player ranking-wise, but when it comes to Davis Cup, they don't have a bigger asset than Nalbandian. And I think it's probably good that they aren't currently playing alongside each other - I think we all remember the Argentinian disaster that was Mar del Plata a few years back, where they nearly punched each other out in the locker room.

Davis Cup does not bring out the best in all players. Sometimes it can completely cow them or crush them. Sometimes they're effectively uninterested - sure, they enjoy it when they're there, but Davis Cup is definitely not a priority (yes, Mr Federer, I am looking in your direction). But it's got something that brings out the best in David Nalbandian, and considering that his career on the individual stage seems to be effectively over (when was the last time you saw him play a tournament) I'm glad Bandy still has a place to shine. Because he is one of the great talents of our age and I would hate to see him wasted.

Davydenko and Other Disappointments

Spain have been sufficiently kept real. No Davis Cup threepeat for them. One tennis journalist wrote that while the defeat wasn't necessarily surprising, the 3-0 blowout was. I agree totally. Any nation is at risk against the hyper-talented France, but I would have expected Spain to have at least won one of the first three rubbers.

Nando Verdasco is going to wear this back home and no mistake. All the previous Davis Cup heroics will be forgotten in the face of his new found bunny status. I guess he'll just be hoping that Spain is too focused on the World Cup to care (which, to be fair, is probably true).


The Czech Republic are also through - without Berdych and Stepanek, which is a massive result for them - but the real battles going on are the two that are still alive, Russia vs Argentina and Croatia vs Serbia. They're both technically anyone-can-win, but you really have to like the team that took the doubles rubber in both situations.


In the former, that is Argentina. A lot is going to rest on Nikolay Davydenko, and he doesn't sound incredibly optimistic. He was phenomenally disappointing against David Nalbandian in the first singles rubber. I mean, sure, Nalbandian is awesome and all and he always brings it at Davis Cup, but Kolya was totally under par. Very disappointing. I'd be putting my faith in Mikhail Youzhny if I were the Russian Davis Cup captain - he seems like Russia's best bet for an equaliser.


And for Croatia, who are down one rubber to two, it's all on the shoulders of mighty Marin Cilic. He is certainly capable of taking out Novak Djokovic, but Djokovic is coming off a great Wimbledon and Cilic has not been in great form of late. However, if he brings it, if he throws the kitchen sink at Djokovic, he definitely has a chance. I thought Davydenko/Nalbandian was going to be the match of the weekend and it was totally disappointing. Maybe Cilic/Djokovic will be the one to remember instead...

Keeping Spain Real

It had to happen sometime. Spain cannot win everything in the world.

Now that I have said this, watch Lopez and Verdasco come back from two sets down and then win their final two singles rubbers to take the tie. But as I write this, Spain are perilously close to being bundled out of the Davis Cup in straight rubbers.

Now that is a shock.

I know they don't have Nadal, but with the depth they have (and the number of pre-blooded Davis Cup heroes) you'd think that that wouldn't be an issue. But it looks like France have suddenly stopped being the wouldashouldacoulda team of the Davis Cup, realised that they have incredible amounts of talent pretty much oozing out of them, and done something about it.

Gael Monfils winning over David Ferrer is not a big shock. I think La Monf is the higher ranked player at the mo and he's certainly the most talented. The Spanish tend to come alive for Davis Cup, but Ferrer has a curiously poor record, comparatively. He's always the high ranked guy that gets yanked off singles to let some lower ranked guy be the hero (cf. Verdasco, the final in Argentina a couple of years back). And La Monfa, when he's not injured, is a mighty force to be reckoned with.

But Verdasco should never have lost that match against Llodra. Llodra is solid, for sure, but Verdasco is top ten. After all his previous Davis Cup heroics, he just might be Spain's undoing this time.

They've just won Wimbledon. They're probably going to win the World Cup. I guess this Davis Cup probably-loss is just keeping Spain real. They can't win everything. Just most things.

Caring About Davis Cup

Welcome to episode #70348502845098 of 'Davis Cup, ain't nobody gonna take you seriously when you're scheduled like that'.

Seriously. The week after Wimbledon. This is not just the week after a Slam, but the week after the six most intense tennis weeks of the year. And you expect the big boys to play? Ahahahahahahahaha.

I don't know how much influence the Players' Council have over stuff like this, but the scheduling of Davis Cup is something that Roger and Rafa and the boys might want to work into their meetings. Because with scheduling like this, nobody who is anybody is going to play it. And I'm assuming that Davis Cup wants and needs people who are anybody playing it.

Davis Cup is supposed to be this big prestigious thing, but when you can't get the big players playing because the scheduling is so stupid, then it devalues itself. And in reality, with the calendar the way it is, there are precious few times that are good times for Davis Cup, times where it doesn't detract from an individual's career. The weekend after Wimbledon is possibly the worst time ever, but there's not exactly many good times. Even the final takes up precious off season time - and considering how little time players get off, I can understand how a lot of them would be loath to play. Davis Cup is making itself really hard to care about for a lot of players.

I've heard a few people say that Davis Cup would be better if it were all played across a two week period, and you know what? I agree. The two week tournament is the most prestigious thing there is in our sport, and so you'd be lifting the profile right there. It would be like a Slam, but for nations. It would require a significant overhaul of the Davis Cup brand and I'm sure there would be some resistance, but I think in the end, it would be for the best. Because then, I think, people would start caring about Davis Cup again.