The first round of the Davis Cup for 2010 is (nearly) complete, and things went largely as expected. The favorites breezed through and most of the tight ties were tight. The only home teams to lose were Belgium, facing last year's finalists the Czech Republic, and Sweden, who fell to an Argentina that was energized almost exclusively by David Nalbandian. While his return had not been very impressive thus far, this bodes well for the next phase of his career. The Americans put up a really tough fight against the Serbians, but in the end, the red clay and the away team status kept them from making it to the next round.
Chile has not yet wrapped up its tie with Israel, but I think that Gonzalez or Massu should be able to pick up the final point tomorrow.
Now, we head back to the United States for the double Masters Series hardcourt tour. This is a ten-day tournament, so it has a weird schedule and starts on (I think) Thursday, this week. I'll take a look at the draw as soon as I see.
A few random notes - Cyprus and Bulgaria both won their ties, entirely on the play of Marcos Baghdatis and Grigor Dimitrov. Australia kicked butt, even sans Lleyton Hewitt.
Also, Mario Ancic made it to the final of a Futures tournament in Texas this week, then lost to 372nd rank Artem Sitak. Maybe it's a bit too early to call it a comeback?
Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label israel. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
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.
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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