DAVIS CUP FROM INDIA ,SWITZERLAND ,CANADA ,BELGIUM ,AUSTRALIA & ALMOST EVERYWHERE

Written by: on 13th September 2014
Davis Cup World Group Semifinal match - Switzerland vs Italy
DAVIS CUP FROM INDIA ,SWITZERLAND ,CANADA ,BELGIUM ,AUSTRALIA & ALMOST EVERYWHERE

epa04397300 Roger Federer of Switzerland serves a ball to Simone Bolelli of Italy during the first single match of the Davis Cup World Group Semifinal match between Switzerland and Italy, at Palexpo, in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 September 2014. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI  |

DAVIS CUP TIDBITS

* French reach Davis Cup final; Switzerland versus Italy still live

* Cilic puts Croatia one win away from victory

* India, Columbia win doubles to keep ties alive

Davis Cup

 

Roger Federer will get his chance for extra points after all.

Switzerland entered Saturday’s action leading Italy 2-0, but they didn’t really go in for the kill. Rather than have Federer team with Stan Wawrinka to try to win after three matches, they had Wawrinka play with Marco Chiudinelli. The Italians also substituted — but they substituted the team that everyone probably expected them to play all along, Bolelli/Fognini. True, both guys had lost in Friday’s singles — but they are also the best doubles team the Italians had. And they showed it. They beat Chiudinelli/Wawrinka 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-2 to keep the tie alive.

Of course, that means that a rested Federer gets to face a tired Fognini next, with the tie on the line, and if somehow Fognini wins, the Wawrinka will face Bolelli (or, more likely, Andreas Seppi) for the chance to clinch.

One way or the other, it appears one of the Swiss guys will gain a little ground on the other in their contest for the #3 ranking.

France doesn’t have to think about points strategies; they are in the final. Having already played a hunch by putting Richard Gasquet in the singles, they played it again by having him team with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the doubles — and did it ever work. The Czechs of course played their usual strategy of not playing whichever team they had pretended would play and instead running out Berdych/Stepanek. But Radek Stepanek was hurting — he had to have treatment for back pain and perhaps a hip problem; he wasn’t even able to sit down when talking to the press afterward, and said he would have retired had this been an ordinary event. And Berdych had looked off even before his partner got injured. Berdych/Stepanek suffered only their second loss in seventeen Davis Cup pairings, falling to Gasquet/Tsonga 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-1. Since France had already won two singles matches, that means that France is in the final, and two-time champions the Czechs are out.

As expected, Australia was the first nation to settle its tie. They earned the clinching point when Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione topped Uzbekistan’s Farukh Dustov and Denis Istomin 6-3 7-6 6-2. One suspect we will see some very obscure names in the reverse singles….

Just getting Marin Cilic on the court seemed to work wonders for Croatia. He and Marin Draganja beat the Dutch team of Haase/Rojer 6-2 3-6 6-3 6-4. That gives Croatia a 2-1 lead, with Cilic ready to play one of the reverse singles matches (although the Croats have not yet announced which one). Barring injury, that is an all-but-sure point to the Croats — which of course would earn them the tie.

Things are looking pretty bleak for the Ukrainians in their not-exactly-home away from home. Ruben Bemelmans and Olivier Rochus of Belgium beat Ukrainians Sergiy Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka 6-2 6-3 2-6 3-6 6-2. That puts Belgium up 2-1, which means that a tired Stakhovsky next has to face a rested David Goffin, the best player in the tie, to keep things alive, and even if that works, Ilya Marchenko still has to beat Steve Darcis. Maybe the Ukrainians should just pack it in and go back to their real home. What more can the ITF do than it has already done?

Talk about hanging on by the skin of their teeth! India is still alive against Serbia, but it needed an 8-6 fifth set in the doubles to do it. And that after coming back from two sets down, too. Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna overcame their differences long enough to edge Serbia’s team of Bozoljac/Zimonjic 1-6 6-7 6-3 6-3 8-6. It still looks as if they’ll be out after the singles, though.

Israel doesn’t get to say goodbye to him, and the tie between Israel and Argentina is by no means settled, but Andy Ram will get to retire on a fairly high note. Ram affirmed on draw day that he is done after this tie. He and Jonathan Erlich, in their last match together, beat Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos 6-3 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3. That gives Israel a 2-1 lead, although unfortunately they will be the underdog in both the reverse singles matches. But they certainly have heart — Erlich/Ram won even though Ram needed treatment in the fifth set as he tried to survive the high heat and humidity in Florida.

Vasek Pospisil giveth and Vasek Pospisil taketh away. On Friday, he won a singles match for Canada which, on paper, he should have lost. On Saturday, he teamed with Daniel Nestor to try to clinch the tie. He couldn’t; they lost to the veteran Columbian team of Cabal/Farah 7-6 7-6 6-4. Still, Canada is up 2-1, and they have Milos Raonic ready to play the first reverse singles. They may not have won in three matches, but they still have a good chance to win in four.

Brazil and Spain both had two doubles specialists in their lineups — but Brazil had two specialists who have a history of playing together. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares topped Marc Lopez and David Marrero 6-3 7-5 7-5 to give Brazil a 2-1 lead. To be sure, they remain the underdogs in both reverse singles matches, but they only need to win one….

Brazil’s Marcelo Melo (L) and Bruno Soares (R) return a ball to Spain’s David Marrero and Marc Lopez during the Davis Cup World Group play-off tennis match between Brazil and Spain at Gimnasio Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 13 September 2014. EPA/SEBASTIAO MOREIRA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We kept seeing stories which said so-and-so won the crucial doubles point to stay alive. Given that most of those teams are going to lose anyway, it would appear that the real meaning of the word “crucial” is “futile.”

By contrast, the doubles match played by the Bryans against the Slovak team of Gombos and Lacko was crucial — because it settled the tie. John Isner and Sam Querrey had put the Americans up 2-0, and the Bryans proceeded to put things away 6-1 6-2 6-1.

****** TODAY’S FEATURE ******

 

Men’s Look Forward: Metz

 

If you chance to meet the Metz tournament along the road somewhere, be sure to give it a hug. It’s a very lonely little event.

This week was supposed to feature the new event at Tel Aviv also, but that was cancelled due to the conflict between the Israeli government and Hamas. So Metz is all that is left. A 28-draw 250 point event with no Top Ten players. And very French. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is #1, and Gael Monfils is #2 and the only other Top Twenty player. Philipp Kohlschreiber is #3, and Lukas Rosol is #4 and has the last bye. Jeremy Chardy is the #5 seed, with slumping Joao Sousa #6. Jerzy Janowicz has the #7 seed, and David Goffin is #8.

It looks as if Sousa’s slump might continue. He got most of the tough players in the draw. He opens against Ivan Dodig, and then might face Andreas Seppi.

The other player who might have a tough match on his hands is Tsonga, who is likely to open against his countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin — who, unlike Tsonga, didn’t have to expend a lot of energy in Davis Cup and will have had more time to adjust to the surface.

The Rankings

This year, we have only one event. Last year, there were two: Metz and St. Petersburg. Gilles Simon — who isn’t back — won Metz last year. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the finalist. Florian Mayer, who of course has been injured for months, was one semifinalist. Nicolas Mahut, who is in the draw on a wildcard, was the other semifinalist. The title at St. Petersburg went to Ernests Gulbis, another guy who isn’t in action this week. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who isn’t playing, was the finalist. Michal Przysiezny and Joao Sousa were the St. Petersburg semifinalists. Sousa is in action this week, Przysiezny isn’t. So only three of last year’s eight semifinalists will be trying to defend this week!

What that means is that we can expect more substantial downward moves than up. Tsonga shouldn’t have any trouble staying at #12 — he has a big lead on #13 Gulbis, and Gulbis will be losing points anyway. It doesn’t appear Gulbis will fall, though, because he too has a big lead on the next guy. Simon, on the other hand, appears to be bound out of the Top Thirty. So is Garcia-Lopez. And Florian Mayer looks like he will be out of the Top Hundred.

******** SCORES ********

DAVIS CUP

Semifinals

France hosts Czech Republic (clay)

FRIDAY: France leads 2-0

R Gasquet def. T Berdych 6-3 6-2 6-3

J Tsonga def. L Rosol 6-2 6-2 6-3

Saturday: France clinches 3-0

Gasquet/Tsonga def. Berdych/Stepanek 6-7(4-7) 6-4 7-6(7-5) 6-1

Switzerland hosts Italy (Indoor Hard)

FRIDAY: Switzerland leads 2-0

R Federer def. S Bolelli 7-6(7-5) 6-4 6-4

S Wawrinka def. F Fognini 6-2 6-3 6-2

Saturday: Switzerland leads 2-1

Fognini/Bolelli def. Chiudinelli/Wawrinka 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-2

World Group Playoffs

India hosts Serbia (hard)

FRIDAY: Serbia leads 2-0

D Lajovic def. Y Bhambri 6-3 6-2 7-5

F Krajinovic def. S Devvarman 6-1 4-6 6-3 6-2

Saturday: Serbia leads 2-1

Paes/Bopanna def. Bozoljac/Zimonjic 1-6 6-7(4-7) 6-3 6-3 8-6

Brazil hosts Spain (indoor clay)

FRIDAY: Tied 1-1

R Bautista Agut def. R Dutra Silva 6-0 6-1 6-3

T Bellucci def. P Andujar 3-6 6-7(6-8) 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Saturday: Brazil leads 2-1

Melo/Soares def. Lopez/Marrero 6-3 7-5 7-5

Israel “hosts” Argentina (hard)

FRIDAY: Tied 1-1

L Mayer def. B Botzer 6-4 3-6 6-2 6-1

D Sela def. C Berlocq 6-3 6-7(5-7) 6-2 6-2

Saturday: Israel leads 2-1

Erlich/Ram def. Delbonis/Zeballos 6-3 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3

Canada hosts Columbia (indoor hard)

FRIDAY: Canada leads 2-0

V Pospisil def. S Giraldo 6-3 7-6(7-2) 6-3

M Raonic def. A Gonzalez 6-3 6-3 6-2

Saturday: Canada leads 2-1

Cabal/Farah def. Nestor/Pospisil 7-6(7-4) 7-6(9-7) 6-4

United States hosts Slovak Republic (indoor hard)

FRIDAY: United States leads 2-0

J Isner def. N Gombos 7-6(7-5) 6-4 6-2

S Querrey def. M Klizan 7-6(8-6) 6-3 6-3

Saturday: United States clinches 3-0

Bryan/Bryan def. Gombos/Lacko 6-1 6-2 6-1

Australia hosts Uzbekistan (grass)

FRIDAY: Australia leads 2-0

N Kyrgios def. D Istomin 6-4 7-5 6-4

L Hewitt def. F Dustov 6-4 6-4 6-2

Saturday: Australia clinches 3-0

Guccione/Hewitt def. Dustov/Istomin 6-3 7-6(7-5) 6-2

Netherlands hosts Croatia (clay)

FRIDAY: Tied 1-1

M Delic def. I Sijsling 4-6 6-4 7-5 6-2

R Haase def. B Coric 7-6(7-4) 6-1 6-4

Saturday: Croatia leads 2-1

Cilic/Draganja def. Haase/Rojer 6-2 3-6 6-3 6-4

Ukraine “hosts” Belgium (indoor hard)

FRIDAY: Tied 1-1

S Stakhovsky def. S Darcis 6-7(5-7) 6-4 6-2 6-2

D Goffin def. I Marchenko 7-6(7-1) 6-3 6-1

Saturday: Belgium leads 2-1

Bemelmans/Rochus def. Stakhovsky/Bubka 6-2 6-3 2-6 3-6 6-2

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