Davis Cup Daze

So, in the complete absence of anything better to talk about today, due to us beign in that lull period after a Slam before tennis gets interesting again, I thought I might do a bit of a Davis Cup preview. That should keep me out of trouble/off the streets, etc etc.

So, semi final #1 - Croatia vs. Czech Republic. This is a team basically consisting of Cilic and Karlovic against Berdych and Stepanek.

This is an interesting matchup. I'm leaning towards the Czechs in the doubles, purely because they have Lukas Dlouhy, but doubles is not my area of expertise so I'm just going to talk about the singles. There are some very interesting match ups, because all four of these players are capable of beating just about anyone if they run hot.

Cilic is the most recent to demonstrate this, beating Andy Murray in straight sets at the US Open and then getting off to a flier against eventual champ JMDP before crumbling in a heap. If he can, you know, not crumble, I think he'll win both his singles matches. I think Stepanek will give him more trouble than Berdych, because Berdych has done pretty much fat nothing this year, whereas Stepanek has done some, like, good stuff and whatnot, but I think Cilic is the most talented of the four players out there and, meltdown aside, I think he'll bring home the bacon for Croatia.

I'm unsure whether Karlovic will be a great second banana or whether he'll be a liability. He's a strange way, Dr Ivo - that huge serve can beat just about anyone, but if they find a way around that, he's pretty much screwed. I can see Stepanek figuring him out pretty early on... Berdych maybe not so much. He might do the figuring, but I can't see him delivering.

So in summation, I think Croatia will come away 3-1 in the singles, their one loss being Karlovic to Stepanek. This will put them back in the final, where they will face...

...the winner of semi final #2, Spain vs Israel. And look, I know Israel are the underdogs and people like supporting the underdogs, but if Spain lose this tie, I will eat my sofa. They are missing their best Davis Cup dudes, Nadal and Verdasco, but the depth that Spain presents is so ridiculous I can't see them losing. Then again, I didn't see Russia losing to Israel either, but I doubt the Spaniards will be quite as fragile.

I give Israel a very decent shot in the doubles. Erlich and Ram are a first rate team. But I really can't see either Dudi Sela or Harel Levy coming through the Mosquito, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has been playing pretty damn good of late. The other singles player, David Ferrer, has occasionally proved to be a bit shaky, but I'd be a bit surprised if he took any major losses here. And even if he did, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo are both excellent players - actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see Robredo playing singles at all. Spain have options. I don't think Israel really have that luxury.

I think Spain's going to go 4-0 on singles here, whoever plays. Israel might win the doubles, but if Spain lose this tie, I will be very surprised.

So let the games begin. And let me be proven wrong.

Oh, and hopp Suisse!


Today's Results

Bell Challenge (Quebec City)

Lilia Osterloh def. Amra Sadikovic, 6-3 2-6 6-2
Bethanie Mattek-Sands def. Vania King, 6-3 6-3


China GDD Guangzhou International Women's Open (Guangzhou)

Anastasija Sevastova def. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 3-6 6-3 6-1
Peng Shuai def. Chanelle Scheepers, 6-3 6-2
Chang Yung-Jan def. Maria Elena Camerin, 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-2)
Olga Savchuk def. Hsieh Su-Wei, 6-4 6-4

Praise and Blame

Israel beat Russia.

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Israel beat Russia.

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That was not supposed to happen. That was not in the script!

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It was the doubles guys that clinched the win for Israel - the match went five sets with the Russians fighting hard, but the experience of Erlich and Ram won out in the end. However, I think you have to give the hero label that inevitably comes up in this situations to the Israeli singles guys, Dudi Sela and Harel Levy - in particular, Levy, who overcame a deficit of something like a hundred rankings places to beat Andreev (who, according to Safin, was the only fit Russian on the team).

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It'll be interesting to see what happens to Tarpischev now... I mean, sure, the Russians did not have their best team out there. No Davydenko and no Tursunov. But the villain of the piece - for as there is a hero, there is someone who needs to be blamed - will be Andreev, poor guy. Davis Cup must be so hard for players, because it's totally foreign. You lose early in a tournament, and you have no one to blame but yourself and it's only yourself that you've let down, in effect. Lose a bad match in Davis Cup? You've let your nation down. And this is one of the only fora in which tennis players play as a nation. The pressure must be totally immense.

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All other ties are still alive - I'll be interested to see if the Americans can make anything happen against the Croats, but I doubt it. The Croats are looking better than they have since they won the Cup a few years ago. Karlovic and Cilic... there's a team to watch out for!

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Today's Results

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Davis Cup

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Czech Republic 2, Argentina 1

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Berdych/Stepanek def Acasuso/Mayer, 6-1 6-4 6-3

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Croatia 2, USA 1

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Marin Cilic def. Mardy Fish, 4-6 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 8-6

Bryan/Bryan def. Karanusic/Zovko, 6-3 6-1 6-3

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Israel 3, Russia 0

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Erlich/Ram def. Kunitsyn/Safin, 6-3 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 6-4

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Spain 2, Germany 1

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Lopez/Verdasco def. Kiefer/Zverev, 6-3 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3

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Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (Newport)

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Rajeev Ram def. Olivier Rochus, 6-3 6-4

Sam Querrey def. Fabrice Santoro, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)

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Bastad Swedish Open Women (Bastad)

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Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez def. Caroline Wozniacki, 7-5 6-4

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GDF SUEZ Grand Prix (Budapest)

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Patty Schnyder def. Edina Gallovits, 6-2 6-4

Agnes Szavay def. Alona Bondarenko, 6-1 6-2

Patty Schnyder def. Alisa Kleybanova, 5-7 7-5 6-2

The Magic of Five

Well, here we are on one of those rare few days of the year that there is no tennis going on, wondering what to write about. Indian Wells doesn't start for a couple of days, and so there is not a whole lot to be saying.

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So I guess we can talk about Davis Cup some more, because there were some very interesting ties in there.

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The one that looked like it would be the most fun to watch, despite the fact that the biggest name players it featured were Thomas Johansson and Dudi Sela, was Israel vs. Sweden. I mean, come on, a tie that came down to a fifth set in the fifth rubber that went 8-6? That's some serious goodness right there. I bet the crowd were glued to that match between Andreas Vinciguerra and Harel Levy, even if they had no clue who either player was. When a match goes that long, I think you learn the quality of the man, the quality of the player. I bet the crowd won't forget that one in a hurry.

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There really is something about five-set tennis. I daresay most of the most memorable matches of all time went five sets. In my personal favourite bank I have a couple of Federer whitewashes that only went three sets (major faves!) but as far as quality goes, where you want a huge tooth and nail struggle, it's five sets all the way. Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon and again at the Aussie Open, and in Rome in '06. Nadal and Verdasco this year. Federer and Safin in '05. Roddick and Younes el Aynaoui, with the fifth set that went 21-19. Tursunov and Roddick at Davis Cup, where I think the fifth went 19-17 or something like that. They're the immortal matches that will be remembered.

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I know five set tennis is taxing and the fact that it's kept for Grand Slams and Davis Cup makes it special, but purely from a viewer's perspective, I wish there were more of it. It was so great when the finals of Masters Series events (1000 events now, I suppose) went five sets - who will ever forget that titanic struggle between the King and the Boss in Rome in 2006, where both held championship points? I've really come quite a long way off topic from Israel and Sweden, but it doesn't matter, really... my point still stands. I love five set tennis. And I wish there were more.

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But I bet the players don't! It must be sooooooo exhausting...