GOING DOWN Down Under: Aussies Struggle In First Day Of Davis Cup Tennis By Ricky Dimon
Things have gone from bad to worse for Tennis Australia.
First the federation banned Bernard Tomic from Davis Cup, after which the 22-year-old took a wild card into the U.S. Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, lost in the first round, flew to Miami, and got arrested. Then a spat between Nick Kyrgios and Patrick Rafter stole some headlines.
Now Australia is failing on the court, too. The host nation trails Kazakhstan 2-0 after the first day of Davis Cup quarterfinal action despite being favored in both singles rubbers. After Thanasi Kokkinakis got clobbered by Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday afternoon, Kyrgios was stunned by Aleksandr Nedovyesov 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4.
During the loss, Kyrgios broke two rackets in succession, blasted a ball out of the stadium, and muttered, “I don’t want to be here.”
“Personally I don’t think I was mentally ready,” the world No. 41 assessed. “Physically I was okay, my body was good, but mentally I almost felt a bit drained out there. It was hard to focus; it was hard to really dig deep (and) push myself. There was lots going on and the more I experience [Davis Cup], the better I will get at it.”
The mood got better in Great Britain after a rough start saw James Ward go down to Gilles Simon in straight sets to begin the Brits quarterfinal tie against France. Andy Murray responded to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 7-6(10), 6-2.
As many expected, the Brits and Frenchmen are tied 1-1 heading into Saturday’s doubles showdown. It is likely to feature Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray for the home team against France’s Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Mahut. Sunday’s opener between Murray and Simon is guaranteed to be a live rubber.
In another tie, Belgium is rolling over a depleted Canadian squad 2-0. Without Milos Raonic and Wimbledon quarterfinalist Vasek Pospisil, the visitors nominated Frank Dancevic and Filip Peliwo for singles. Steve Darcis defeated Dancevic 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 and David Goffin took care of Peliwo 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
The Canadians could have a better chance in doubles with veteran Daniel Nestor as the anchor. Nestor and Adil Shamasdin are scheduled to face Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans and Kimmer Coppejans on Saturday.
Topics: Bernard Tomic, Davis Cup, Nick Kyrgios, Pat Rafter, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis Australia, Tennis News, Thanasi Kokkinakis, U.S. Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
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