At the Campbell's Hall of Fame tennis championships, Mardy Fish won a tightly contested match against Olivier Rochus to take the title. This was a very impressive and steady performance from Fish, who has a pretty abysmal record in finals. Fortunately for him, Olivier Rochus's is not much better. The American recovered from being frustrated at some line calls at the end of the first set to win the second two cleanly enough - he got one break in each of the second two sets. In the final game of the match, Fish saved two break points - the first ones that Rochus had since the very first set.
It's a big win for Fish, who lost the Queens final about a month ago, and will hopefully bode well for the rest of his year, and the next few years of his career. It's unfortunate to think about, but as Fish is now 29 years old and has had a lot of injury problems, so he probably can count the number of good tennis years he has left on one hand. If he can keep up this form, though, I can see him making it back to the top 30, top 20, with pretty high confidence.
As for the Davis Cup, the action today was pretty exciting. Nikolay Davydenko overcome a slow start against Argentine Eduardo Schwank to beat him in four sets and redeem himself after losing his first singles match and playing his part in losing the doubles point as well. However, there was nothing he could do to help Mikhail Youzhny against David Nalbandian, who played like a man possessed this weekend. When is Nalby going to get back in action on the main tour, because he demolished both Davydenko and Youzhny, each in three sets, by blasting winners from every part of the court. I want this guy back in the top 20, where he belongs!
In Croatia, Marin Cilic put up a spirited effort against Novak Djokovic, and the crowd nearly rushed on court to break Djokovic's legs if they could have. The Croatians were warned numerous times to keep quiet, lest their man be docked a point. It was the last thing that Cilic needed, because he had enough trouble just handling Djokovic's stunning ground-stroke depth. There was nothing Cilic could do - this was the best I've seen Djokovic play in a long time. He was actually playing like the number two player in the world. We'll see if he can keep up that form during the U.S. hardcourt season.
Looking ahead to this next week, we have a strange, carryover week of clay court tournaments, before the U.S. hard court season starts in earnest. The tournaments in Bastad and Stuttgart are on the red clay. This Indian Summer of the clay court season has some interesting match-ups on offer. I'll do a quick overview of each.
In Stuttgart, Davydenko, Melzer, and Monfils are all in action. Also, an odd wildcard went to Dustin Brown, who was playing on grass this week in Newport. It'll be interesting to see how his net-rushing, big-serving game works on clay. The stronger field is probably in action at Bastad, where all the top Spanish players (minus Rafael Nadal) are going to try to forget about their recent Davis Cup loss. While hometown boy Soderling is the top seed, he'll need to navigate a field with Ferrer, Almagro, Verdasco, and Robredo. It'll be fun to see the last bit of clay-court tennis until next year.
Showing posts with label croatia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label croatia. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Newport Mid-Week and Davis Cup Preview
Some interesting things happening in Rhode Island. Top seed Sam Querrey was felled by an absolutely inspired Dustin Brown - the Jamaican lost only one point off his first serve and served at 67%. Querrey may not have been at his absolute best, but credit to Brown for playing the best I've ever seen him. Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain that level, and fell rather tamely to Brian Dabul in the next round.
Rajeev Ram, the defending champion, was also upset in the second round to South African Raven Klaasen, who has a career ATP-level record of 5-2 over the past 8 years. I'm willing to bet that all of those matches are either in Davis Cup play or in the Johannesburg event. Credit to him for getting that win, but he also fell to Olivier Rochus in the quarterfinals.
Nicolas Mahut looked to be nursing a back injury in his second-round match against Frank Dancevic, but he didn't quit. He played it tough, but he seemed to be in pain whenever he went up to serve, and he ended up losing in two sets. All the same, is this guy an iron man or what?
In addition to Rochus, the only seed left in the draw is Mardy Fish, who has looked dominant, so far. I'm hoping he'll see young American Ryan Harrison in the semifinals. Harrison demolished Slovakian Karol Beck, seeded sixth, in the first round. I'm seeing a Mardy Fish-Olivier Rochus final, but since they're the only two seeds remaining and this tournament has been seeing quite an exodus of its top players, that may not play out.
In addition, tomorrow marks the first day of the second round of the 2010 Davis Cup. There are some interesting match-ups, but also some big-name players who are sitting this week out with injury. Let's look at who's in action:
France and Spain are two of the most dominant nations in tennis today, but both teams are missing their top players. Nadal and Tsonga are both on the sidelines, and unfortunately for France, Spain's B-team is more impressive than the second squad that France is putting up for action. The first singles match of the day is Gael Monfils and David Ferrer, which is an extremely appetizing match, and France's chances will depend largely on how well Monfils can play. He's the best player that's active on the French side, but his record in Davis Cup has not been great. After his first rubber with Ferrer, Michael Llodra takes on Fernando Verdasco. Since France is playing at home and on a hard court, I think the big-serving Llodra has an outside chance against "Hot Sauce," but it will depend in large part on his first-serve percentage. If Spain finishes day one with a 2-0 lead, the French are toast.
The second quartefinal is between Russia and Argentina, with Russia at home and again on hard courts. Since the majority of Argentine players prefer to play on clay, and last year's U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro is still out with injury, the Argentine squad doesn't look like they have much of a shot against the Russians. But they have a potential spoiler on their side - the recently-injured David Nalbandian, who saved Argentina in the first round against Sweden, is the country's only hope. He opens against Davydenko, which could be a cracker of a match. If both players are healthy, it may be the best match of the first day, but that's a big if. Nalbandian holds a slight 6-5 advantage over Davydenko, so we'll see how that one plays out. The second match of the day is Youzhny against Leonardo Mayer, which would be a big upset for Mayer.
In what is sure to be a hotly-contested, Eastern European fight, Croatia takes on Serbia, in Croatia. The Serbs have Nenad Zimonjic, so you can almost give them the doubles point already. The tie will likely hinge on whether either Marin Cilic or Ivan Ljubicic can upset Novak Djokovic. Both of the Croats had extremely lackluster Wimbledon campaigns, while Novak made it to the semifinals. He's clearly the form player here, but is he getting tired? This is another one that should be fun to watch how it plays out. Also, Serbia's number three player Janko Tipsarevic just recently got married, so maybe his tennis will be invigorated by that change in his life.
The last quarterfinal match-up is, honestly, a bit of a letdown. Chile takes on the Czech Republic, but Fernando Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych, and Radek Stepanek are all out of action. That leaves us with the scintillating match-ups of Nicolas Massu against Ivo Minar and Paul Capdeville against Jan Hajek. Considering that the match is taking place in Chile and Massu only seems to play well when he's playing for his country (see 2004 Olympics), I think the edge goes to the Chileans. But this is definitely the tie with the least star power in action.
Wimbledon's less a week gone, and things are already picking up again. Injuries aside, I love the packed tennis season, don't you?
Rajeev Ram, the defending champion, was also upset in the second round to South African Raven Klaasen, who has a career ATP-level record of 5-2 over the past 8 years. I'm willing to bet that all of those matches are either in Davis Cup play or in the Johannesburg event. Credit to him for getting that win, but he also fell to Olivier Rochus in the quarterfinals.
Nicolas Mahut looked to be nursing a back injury in his second-round match against Frank Dancevic, but he didn't quit. He played it tough, but he seemed to be in pain whenever he went up to serve, and he ended up losing in two sets. All the same, is this guy an iron man or what?
In addition to Rochus, the only seed left in the draw is Mardy Fish, who has looked dominant, so far. I'm hoping he'll see young American Ryan Harrison in the semifinals. Harrison demolished Slovakian Karol Beck, seeded sixth, in the first round. I'm seeing a Mardy Fish-Olivier Rochus final, but since they're the only two seeds remaining and this tournament has been seeing quite an exodus of its top players, that may not play out.
In addition, tomorrow marks the first day of the second round of the 2010 Davis Cup. There are some interesting match-ups, but also some big-name players who are sitting this week out with injury. Let's look at who's in action:
France and Spain are two of the most dominant nations in tennis today, but both teams are missing their top players. Nadal and Tsonga are both on the sidelines, and unfortunately for France, Spain's B-team is more impressive than the second squad that France is putting up for action. The first singles match of the day is Gael Monfils and David Ferrer, which is an extremely appetizing match, and France's chances will depend largely on how well Monfils can play. He's the best player that's active on the French side, but his record in Davis Cup has not been great. After his first rubber with Ferrer, Michael Llodra takes on Fernando Verdasco. Since France is playing at home and on a hard court, I think the big-serving Llodra has an outside chance against "Hot Sauce," but it will depend in large part on his first-serve percentage. If Spain finishes day one with a 2-0 lead, the French are toast.
The second quartefinal is between Russia and Argentina, with Russia at home and again on hard courts. Since the majority of Argentine players prefer to play on clay, and last year's U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro is still out with injury, the Argentine squad doesn't look like they have much of a shot against the Russians. But they have a potential spoiler on their side - the recently-injured David Nalbandian, who saved Argentina in the first round against Sweden, is the country's only hope. He opens against Davydenko, which could be a cracker of a match. If both players are healthy, it may be the best match of the first day, but that's a big if. Nalbandian holds a slight 6-5 advantage over Davydenko, so we'll see how that one plays out. The second match of the day is Youzhny against Leonardo Mayer, which would be a big upset for Mayer.
In what is sure to be a hotly-contested, Eastern European fight, Croatia takes on Serbia, in Croatia. The Serbs have Nenad Zimonjic, so you can almost give them the doubles point already. The tie will likely hinge on whether either Marin Cilic or Ivan Ljubicic can upset Novak Djokovic. Both of the Croats had extremely lackluster Wimbledon campaigns, while Novak made it to the semifinals. He's clearly the form player here, but is he getting tired? This is another one that should be fun to watch how it plays out. Also, Serbia's number three player Janko Tipsarevic just recently got married, so maybe his tennis will be invigorated by that change in his life.
The last quarterfinal match-up is, honestly, a bit of a letdown. Chile takes on the Czech Republic, but Fernando Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych, and Radek Stepanek are all out of action. That leaves us with the scintillating match-ups of Nicolas Massu against Ivo Minar and Paul Capdeville against Jan Hajek. Considering that the match is taking place in Chile and Massu only seems to play well when he's playing for his country (see 2004 Olympics), I think the edge goes to the Chileans. But this is definitely the tie with the least star power in action.
Wimbledon's less a week gone, and things are already picking up again. Injuries aside, I love the packed tennis season, don't you?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Davis Cup First Round, Day 2
The first week of the Davis Cup is about to wrap up. Three of the eight matchups have already drawn to a close, and at least four of the remaining five will finish tomorrow, and I expect that the fifth one will as well.
The ones that are already done, and none of them are surprises, are Croatia over Ecuador, the Czech Republic over Belgium, and France over Germany. What may be a bit of a surprise is that neither Russia nor Serbia closed out their ties. Both the Indians and Americans fielded strong doubles teams - well, at least the Americans tried to.
Mike Bryan came down with food poisoning, which meant that the Americans' best hope of getting the doubles point was in jeopardy. Amazingly, big John Isner stepped up and replaced the ailing Bryan, and served superbly in the Americans' defeat of Zimonjic and Tipsarevic. Kudos to Isner, but he'll need to build on that confidence to have a chance in the match against Novak Djokovic, tomorrow. If he somehow manages to win, I do give the Americans of making an impossible comeback, because Querrey has a real chance against Troicki. But it's a huge ask for Isner.
India managed their doubles point against Russia, but that was really their only chance. Russia's taking this one. I expect that the coach may replace Kunitsyn with Andreev for the second singles match just to be safer, but it probably won't matter.
Switzerland has about as much chance to win both singles points tomorrow as the United States does, but it's still a chance. Don't look for a first-round upset of the defending champs this year.
Argentina-Sweden is the most interesting match-up for tomorrow. Argentina is actually up 2-1, when Nalbandian joined in for the doubles and won the point with relative ease. I'm curious to see if he'll get put in the tie for one of the reverse singles. It seems like a sure thing, but I'm not 100% on his health. This one is a toss-up.
Chile is a day behind the other matches, but it's almost certain that the tie will end tomorrow as well. Massu and Gonzalez both won in four sets. They'll team up for the doubles point tomorrow, and almost certainly will win. They're a gold-medal winning team, as you may recall.
There's still a lot of tennis to play, though, so we'll just see what happens tomorrow.
The ones that are already done, and none of them are surprises, are Croatia over Ecuador, the Czech Republic over Belgium, and France over Germany. What may be a bit of a surprise is that neither Russia nor Serbia closed out their ties. Both the Indians and Americans fielded strong doubles teams - well, at least the Americans tried to.
Mike Bryan came down with food poisoning, which meant that the Americans' best hope of getting the doubles point was in jeopardy. Amazingly, big John Isner stepped up and replaced the ailing Bryan, and served superbly in the Americans' defeat of Zimonjic and Tipsarevic. Kudos to Isner, but he'll need to build on that confidence to have a chance in the match against Novak Djokovic, tomorrow. If he somehow manages to win, I do give the Americans of making an impossible comeback, because Querrey has a real chance against Troicki. But it's a huge ask for Isner.
India managed their doubles point against Russia, but that was really their only chance. Russia's taking this one. I expect that the coach may replace Kunitsyn with Andreev for the second singles match just to be safer, but it probably won't matter.
Switzerland has about as much chance to win both singles points tomorrow as the United States does, but it's still a chance. Don't look for a first-round upset of the defending champs this year.
Argentina-Sweden is the most interesting match-up for tomorrow. Argentina is actually up 2-1, when Nalbandian joined in for the doubles and won the point with relative ease. I'm curious to see if he'll get put in the tie for one of the reverse singles. It seems like a sure thing, but I'm not 100% on his health. This one is a toss-up.
Chile is a day behind the other matches, but it's almost certain that the tie will end tomorrow as well. Massu and Gonzalez both won in four sets. They'll team up for the doubles point tomorrow, and almost certainly will win. They're a gold-medal winning team, as you may recall.
There's still a lot of tennis to play, though, so we'll just see what happens tomorrow.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Davis Cup First Round, Day One
With the first day of tennis for this year's Davis Cup complete, things have gone largely as expected. There are a few minor surprises, but I'll note the things that have progressed as one might have thought they would, first.
Russia lost only one set against India, with Kunitsyn losing the first in a tiebreak to Devvarman before winning in four. The Czechs didn't even lose one set to Belgium, with Berdych even serving Olivier Rochus a bagel in the second. Croatia is up two rubbers to none, but Karlovic had to work for it. Nicolas Lapentti took him to five sets, but he came out on top in the end.
France is up 2-0 on Germany, with the team only dropping one set as well, which Tsonga lost to Benjamin Becker. Serbia is also up 2-0 over the USA, with Querrey and Isner both falling in four sets. They were both hard-fought matches, but the big Americans just weren't as suited to or as comfortable as their opponents on the clay.
Chile and Israel have yet to start their tie yet, but will get underway tomorrow. That leaves the two ties which are - so far - the most competitive. Sweden is 1-1 against Argentina, which is most surprising because Nalbandian has not stepped on court for the Argentine team yet. Leonardo Mayer showed a lot of class in getting his first Davis Cup win against Joachim Johansson. It will be interesting to see if the Argentine captain then swaps out one of his singles players for Nalbandian, and if so - which one.
The most interesting result of the first day in the world group (although it isn't quite a surprise) is that Spain and Switzerland are 1-1, with Wawrinka beating Almagro in the day's second five-setter. Ferrer turned the tide on Chiudinelli, beating him in straights, but the damage was already done. The doubles will be incredibly important, because while I don't think that Switzerland can get both of the points on the second day of doubles, they have a shot at one of them. It would be amazing if Spain lost in the first round at home this year - and by that, I mean that I don't see it happening. It's too much to ask of Stan "the Man," since he's only 1-4 in doubles play in his career in the Davis Cup, anyway.
The best match of the day, though, didn't even take place in the World Group. In Group 1 of the Europe/Africa zone, Poland played Finland, and Jarkko Nieminen beat Michael Przysiezny (ranked 137) by the score 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 7-6(7) 6-4. Nieminen may have saved match points in that fourth set tiebreak (I'm not sure) but he was on the verge of defeat for sure. I didn't see any match that went past 6-6 in the fifth in today's play (I may have missed it, I'll admit) so this was officially the closest match of the day.
A few other things worthy of note - Marcos Baghdatis breezed through his match for Cyprus, and Britain is 1-1 against Lithuania even without Andy Murray! Maybe if they can win, he'll be convinced to give it another shot. Latvia, however, is getting blitzed by Ukraine without recent titlist Ernests Gulbis. Australia is doing fine against Chinese Taipei without the injured Lleyton Hewitt, as well. Tomic and Luczak both won their matches. Grigor Dimitrov also got Bulgaria's only point against Monaco, which is a good result for the teen. Dimitrov, despite being only 18 years old, is 8-1 in Davis Cup play, including 7-0 in singles. Could we see Bulgaria in the world group, in the next few years?
Tomorrow, play really gets interesting. Quite a few teams will wrap up their ties with the doubles, but at worst, somebody will be one point from victory. This is some of the most exciting and interesting doubles action during the whole year. Enjoy!
Russia lost only one set against India, with Kunitsyn losing the first in a tiebreak to Devvarman before winning in four. The Czechs didn't even lose one set to Belgium, with Berdych even serving Olivier Rochus a bagel in the second. Croatia is up two rubbers to none, but Karlovic had to work for it. Nicolas Lapentti took him to five sets, but he came out on top in the end.
France is up 2-0 on Germany, with the team only dropping one set as well, which Tsonga lost to Benjamin Becker. Serbia is also up 2-0 over the USA, with Querrey and Isner both falling in four sets. They were both hard-fought matches, but the big Americans just weren't as suited to or as comfortable as their opponents on the clay.
Chile and Israel have yet to start their tie yet, but will get underway tomorrow. That leaves the two ties which are - so far - the most competitive. Sweden is 1-1 against Argentina, which is most surprising because Nalbandian has not stepped on court for the Argentine team yet. Leonardo Mayer showed a lot of class in getting his first Davis Cup win against Joachim Johansson. It will be interesting to see if the Argentine captain then swaps out one of his singles players for Nalbandian, and if so - which one.
The most interesting result of the first day in the world group (although it isn't quite a surprise) is that Spain and Switzerland are 1-1, with Wawrinka beating Almagro in the day's second five-setter. Ferrer turned the tide on Chiudinelli, beating him in straights, but the damage was already done. The doubles will be incredibly important, because while I don't think that Switzerland can get both of the points on the second day of doubles, they have a shot at one of them. It would be amazing if Spain lost in the first round at home this year - and by that, I mean that I don't see it happening. It's too much to ask of Stan "the Man," since he's only 1-4 in doubles play in his career in the Davis Cup, anyway.
The best match of the day, though, didn't even take place in the World Group. In Group 1 of the Europe/Africa zone, Poland played Finland, and Jarkko Nieminen beat Michael Przysiezny (ranked 137) by the score 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-7(5) 7-6(7) 6-4. Nieminen may have saved match points in that fourth set tiebreak (I'm not sure) but he was on the verge of defeat for sure. I didn't see any match that went past 6-6 in the fifth in today's play (I may have missed it, I'll admit) so this was officially the closest match of the day.
A few other things worthy of note - Marcos Baghdatis breezed through his match for Cyprus, and Britain is 1-1 against Lithuania even without Andy Murray! Maybe if they can win, he'll be convinced to give it another shot. Latvia, however, is getting blitzed by Ukraine without recent titlist Ernests Gulbis. Australia is doing fine against Chinese Taipei without the injured Lleyton Hewitt, as well. Tomic and Luczak both won their matches. Grigor Dimitrov also got Bulgaria's only point against Monaco, which is a good result for the teen. Dimitrov, despite being only 18 years old, is 8-1 in Davis Cup play, including 7-0 in singles. Could we see Bulgaria in the world group, in the next few years?
Tomorrow, play really gets interesting. Quite a few teams will wrap up their ties with the doubles, but at worst, somebody will be one point from victory. This is some of the most exciting and interesting doubles action during the whole year. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Davis Cup 2010 First Round Preview
Tomorrow, the 2010 Davis Cup kicks off with all 16 teams in action. That means there will be 32 singles matches in the next three days and 8 doubles matches. Half of the teams in the World Group will be eliminated, while the rest will move on to the quarterfinals. There are some intriguing match-ups here, but with a surprising majority of the top players sidelined, maybe not the matches we would have anticipated when the draw first appeared. For example...
Spain v. Switzerland, in Spain on indoor red clay
Everyone expected this to be a meeting between Nadal and Federer. But neither player is in action this week. That leaves Switzerland with its number two man, Stan Wawrinka, in the lead spot. Thankfully, in the past year, the Swiss number 3 player Marco Chiudinelli has made some noise on the tour, and he may be a force in this tie. Especially considering that the Spaniards are down to their number four player to lead their singles. After Nadal, Verdasco and Ferrero are both out for the weekend as well, leaving David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo as the top two players. Surprisingly, Spain isn't sending out Robredo for the singles, opting instead for Nicolas Almagro. Robredo will be playing doubles, which makes sense. In addition to having the fifth highest-singles ranking, he has the highest doubles ranking among any of his countrymen. He'll be partnering with the second-highest ranked Spaniard in doubles, Marcel Granollers. For the Swiss, Wawrinka will be partnering Yves Allegro.
As Spain is the twice-defending champion of the Davis Cup scene, it's unlikely that they'll lose in the first round, despite missing many of their top players. Wawrinka needs to win both of his singles matches and hope that Chiudinelli can pull of an upset. If I were the Swiss captain, I would actually pull Wawrinka from the doubles and just consider that a lost point, rather than tiring out the team's anchor. Advantage to Spain, definitely.
France v. Germany, in France on indoor hard court
France has its top two players in action this week, which should help their chances immensely against Germany, which is without its Davis Cup stalwart Tommy Haas. The Germans are still fielding their next best options, with Kohlschreiber and Benjamin "Not Boris" Becker. It's going to be tough for them to do much against Tsonga and Monfils, though. Add to that the fact that the French have Llodra and Benneteau for the doubles, who have already won a title this year, and Germany will have a tough road to travel. Christopher Kas is a perfectly competent doubles player, but the French team will have to play well worse than their best for the Germans to have a chance here.
Russia v. India, in Russia on indoor hard court
One of the two stone-cold locks of the first round this year, Russia will never lose to India at home. Even without Safin, even without Davydenko, who withdrew with injury, Russia should have very little trouble. The Russian team is headed by Andreev and Youzhny, who should have no trouble with either Somdev Devvarman or Rohan Bopanna. Russia may lose the doubles point, as Bhupathi and Paes are both top 10 doubles players, but they will need an absolutely stunning performance to win even one singles point, much less two.
Croatia v. Ecuador, in Croatia on indoor hard court
This would be the other lock. Marin Cilic is one of the hottest players on tour at the moment, and Karlovic is deadly on this kind of surface, with no wind to worry about on his toss. And their opponents will be the hard-working but not especially accomplished Lapentti brothers, Nicolas and Giovanni. Tough to pick the Ecuadorians to win more than a point, here.
Sweden v. Argentina, in Sweden on indoor hard court
This one looked like it could have been a rout, with Argentina's best players out of the picture, they were left with Horacio Zeballos and Leonardo Mayer leading the charge. But at the last minute, David Nalbandian rejoined the team. While his health may be an issue, he should at least give the Argentines a chance of escpaing this round and being one of the few possible home-court upsets this weekend. The Swedes have top player Robin Soderling but strangely enough, he's the only Swedish player in the top 100. For Argentina, Zeballos, Schwank, and Mayer are all inside the top 75, and Nalbandian is a former world number 3. If Nalbandian is healthy and able to play, the visiting team has a shot here.
Serbia v. United States of America, in Serbia on indoor clay courts
Tough first round for the Americans, especially without Roddick, Blake, or Mardy Fish. First-timers John Isner and Sam Querrey will face off against Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki. A win by Isner on either day would be an upset, but Querrey is the more experienced and capable clay court player. Unfortunately for the U.S., the doubles point isn't even a sure thing, as the Bryan Brothers will be facing Nenad Zimonjic, currently a part of the best doubles team in the world. If the U.S. can win the doubles, then either Querrey will need to upset Djokovic or Isner will need to upset Troicki. Otherwise, Serbia's through.
Belgium v. Czech Republic, in Belgium on indoor clay courts
This is an interesting match-up. One of the toughest home ties (the top teams seem to all have the home field advantage, except for the Czechs) the Belgians have four moderately good players on their squad, but no real stand-outs. The Rochus brothers, a recovering Xavier Malisse, and challenger regular Steve Darcis will be facing Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy. Dlouhy is an excellent doubles player, but there's not much to say about Hajek. Berdych's power will be slowed by the clay, somewhat, and Stepanek has not had a great year so far. It's tough to bet against the Czechs, as they just came back from an appearance in the finals last year, but the Belgians have a shot.
Chile v. Israel, in Chile on outdoor clay courts
The most poignant first-round match-up, for sure. After the recent earth-quake in Chile, how will the fans, the players, the stadium hold up to play there so soon? The Chileans have their best players, and they always play their best at home. Gonzalez, Massu, Capdeville and Aguilar are a tough team. The Israeli team is going to be struggling to match the effort they made last year, beating the Swiss in Sweden and then upsetting the Russians at home. This match will hinge entirely on how the Chileans, fans and players, are able to get into the tennis after such an enormous tragedy. I hope that this presents an opportunity for the country to come together for a short while and relish in international competition, the way they usually do. They actually need it now more than ever.
Spain v. Switzerland, in Spain on indoor red clay
Everyone expected this to be a meeting between Nadal and Federer. But neither player is in action this week. That leaves Switzerland with its number two man, Stan Wawrinka, in the lead spot. Thankfully, in the past year, the Swiss number 3 player Marco Chiudinelli has made some noise on the tour, and he may be a force in this tie. Especially considering that the Spaniards are down to their number four player to lead their singles. After Nadal, Verdasco and Ferrero are both out for the weekend as well, leaving David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo as the top two players. Surprisingly, Spain isn't sending out Robredo for the singles, opting instead for Nicolas Almagro. Robredo will be playing doubles, which makes sense. In addition to having the fifth highest-singles ranking, he has the highest doubles ranking among any of his countrymen. He'll be partnering with the second-highest ranked Spaniard in doubles, Marcel Granollers. For the Swiss, Wawrinka will be partnering Yves Allegro.
As Spain is the twice-defending champion of the Davis Cup scene, it's unlikely that they'll lose in the first round, despite missing many of their top players. Wawrinka needs to win both of his singles matches and hope that Chiudinelli can pull of an upset. If I were the Swiss captain, I would actually pull Wawrinka from the doubles and just consider that a lost point, rather than tiring out the team's anchor. Advantage to Spain, definitely.
France v. Germany, in France on indoor hard court
France has its top two players in action this week, which should help their chances immensely against Germany, which is without its Davis Cup stalwart Tommy Haas. The Germans are still fielding their next best options, with Kohlschreiber and Benjamin "Not Boris" Becker. It's going to be tough for them to do much against Tsonga and Monfils, though. Add to that the fact that the French have Llodra and Benneteau for the doubles, who have already won a title this year, and Germany will have a tough road to travel. Christopher Kas is a perfectly competent doubles player, but the French team will have to play well worse than their best for the Germans to have a chance here.
Russia v. India, in Russia on indoor hard court
One of the two stone-cold locks of the first round this year, Russia will never lose to India at home. Even without Safin, even without Davydenko, who withdrew with injury, Russia should have very little trouble. The Russian team is headed by Andreev and Youzhny, who should have no trouble with either Somdev Devvarman or Rohan Bopanna. Russia may lose the doubles point, as Bhupathi and Paes are both top 10 doubles players, but they will need an absolutely stunning performance to win even one singles point, much less two.
Croatia v. Ecuador, in Croatia on indoor hard court
This would be the other lock. Marin Cilic is one of the hottest players on tour at the moment, and Karlovic is deadly on this kind of surface, with no wind to worry about on his toss. And their opponents will be the hard-working but not especially accomplished Lapentti brothers, Nicolas and Giovanni. Tough to pick the Ecuadorians to win more than a point, here.
Sweden v. Argentina, in Sweden on indoor hard court
This one looked like it could have been a rout, with Argentina's best players out of the picture, they were left with Horacio Zeballos and Leonardo Mayer leading the charge. But at the last minute, David Nalbandian rejoined the team. While his health may be an issue, he should at least give the Argentines a chance of escpaing this round and being one of the few possible home-court upsets this weekend. The Swedes have top player Robin Soderling but strangely enough, he's the only Swedish player in the top 100. For Argentina, Zeballos, Schwank, and Mayer are all inside the top 75, and Nalbandian is a former world number 3. If Nalbandian is healthy and able to play, the visiting team has a shot here.
Serbia v. United States of America, in Serbia on indoor clay courts
Tough first round for the Americans, especially without Roddick, Blake, or Mardy Fish. First-timers John Isner and Sam Querrey will face off against Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki. A win by Isner on either day would be an upset, but Querrey is the more experienced and capable clay court player. Unfortunately for the U.S., the doubles point isn't even a sure thing, as the Bryan Brothers will be facing Nenad Zimonjic, currently a part of the best doubles team in the world. If the U.S. can win the doubles, then either Querrey will need to upset Djokovic or Isner will need to upset Troicki. Otherwise, Serbia's through.
Belgium v. Czech Republic, in Belgium on indoor clay courts
This is an interesting match-up. One of the toughest home ties (the top teams seem to all have the home field advantage, except for the Czechs) the Belgians have four moderately good players on their squad, but no real stand-outs. The Rochus brothers, a recovering Xavier Malisse, and challenger regular Steve Darcis will be facing Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy. Dlouhy is an excellent doubles player, but there's not much to say about Hajek. Berdych's power will be slowed by the clay, somewhat, and Stepanek has not had a great year so far. It's tough to bet against the Czechs, as they just came back from an appearance in the finals last year, but the Belgians have a shot.
Chile v. Israel, in Chile on outdoor clay courts
The most poignant first-round match-up, for sure. After the recent earth-quake in Chile, how will the fans, the players, the stadium hold up to play there so soon? The Chileans have their best players, and they always play their best at home. Gonzalez, Massu, Capdeville and Aguilar are a tough team. The Israeli team is going to be struggling to match the effort they made last year, beating the Swiss in Sweden and then upsetting the Russians at home. This match will hinge entirely on how the Chileans, fans and players, are able to get into the tennis after such an enormous tragedy. I hope that this presents an opportunity for the country to come together for a short while and relish in international competition, the way they usually do. They actually need it now more than ever.
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