Ricky Dimon

• First Round Davis Cup Thoughts

  2008-02-14 14:02:00
  

  Russia 3, Serbia 2
  The story of this tie, of course, was Serbia being shorthanded in its upset bid of the powerful Russian squad. Instead of sending out Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic for the first day of singles, the team had to go with Viktor Troicki and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic. Both players put forth admirable efforts, but ultimately Troicki fell to Nikolay Davydenko in five sets and Zimonjic lost to Mikhail Youzhny in four after stunning the Russian in the first set. Djokovic played through his sickness to team with Zimonjic for the doubles point, but he retired the next day against Davydenko while leading two sets to one, allowing Russia to clinch the tie. Djokovic has a history of questionable injuries and ailments, but it's hard to imagine him giving anything less than his absolute best when playing for his country, so he has to receive the benefit of the doubt. The bottom line is that it's just disappointing the Serbs could not contest this tie at full strength; otherwise it would have been a scintillating first-round pairing.
  
  Czech Republic 3, Belgium 2
  This was nowhere near as close as the 3-2 score indicated. The tie was over after the Czech’s epic doubles victory on Saturday. One day after sweeping their singles matches in straight sets, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek teamed up to defeat Kristof Vliegen and Olivier Rochus 6-4 in the fifth. With Berdych and Stepanek on board, it’s no surprise the Czechs took care of business before things ever got suspenseful.
  
  Argentina 4, Great Britain 1
  The story of this tie wasn’t so much about the winners as it was the losers. Andy Murray chose to skip the weekend’s festivities, instead opting to rest of for the ATP tournament in Marseille. That did not sit well with Murray’s brother, Jamie, who was part of the Great Britain squad. Without Andy in the mix, Great Britain’s hard fall at the hands of Argentina was not unexpected. Led by David Nalbandian, who secured points in both singles and doubles, the Argentines did not drop a single set in their three match wins over the first two days of play.
  
  Sweden 3, Israel 2
  This first-round tie was the only one that came down to a decisive fifth rubber. Veteran Jonas Bjorkman carried the weight of Sweden on his shoulders in the final singles match, while the Israelis relied on Harel Levy. After dropping the first set in stunning 6-0 fashion, Bjorkman stormed back and disappointed the hometown crowd by winning the next three sets, including 7-6(6) in the fourth. Fellow veteran Swede Thomas Johansson also played the role of hero, securing wins in both of his singles matches, the second of which allowed Sweden to stay alive in the tie and give Bjorkman a chance at heroics.
  
  Germany 3, Korea 2
  Although this tie was without much drama--as expected--it was not without a star performance. Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who really made a name for himself last month at the Australian Open by defeating Andy Roddick in a five-set classic, contributed all thee points and dropped just one set in three matches in the process. Kohlschreiber defeated Jae-Sung An in the first singles match on Day 1, teamed with Philipp Petzschner to win an easy doubles rubber on Saturday, and then got past Hyung-Taik Lee in four sets in the first singles rubber on Sunday to clinch the tie. Korea, meanwhile, needs someone other than Lee in order to have a chance of making an impact at future Davis Cups.
  
  Spain 5, Peru 0
  This was not expected to be much of a contest and it never was. Not only did Spain win the first three matches all in straight sets, but it also took the two meaningless reverse singles matches in straight sets. The Spaniards did not send out their top arsenal, but Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo were more than enough on the first day of singles to dispatch Matias Silva and Ivan Miranda, respectively. Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco took care of Miranda and Luis Horna in doubles on Saturday. While this tie offered almost no difficulty, Spain will have to pick it up a notch against Germany in the quarterfinals.
  
  France 5, Romania 0
  With a lineup featuring Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, and Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in doubles, the French were highly-touted entering the 2008 Davis Cup. Nothing has changed after their drubbing of Romania in the first round. Tsonga and Gasquet cruised in the singles and Clement and Llodra won a grueling five-set doubles match on Saturday over unheralded Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. The prize for winning? A trip to Winston Salem, North Carolina to play the defending champion United States.
  
  USA 4, Austria 1
  Not only was this played on clay, but it was played on horribly-surfaced clay that created all kinds of ridiculous bounces. Normally that would spell major trouble for the United States, a country that historically stinks up the red clay at Roland Garros, but the defending Davis Cup champions handled the situation admirably last week in Austria. Andy Roddick got things started with a huge five-set win over Jurgen Melzer and the USA never looked back. James Blake rolled over Stefan Koubek and the Bryan Brothers were their usual flawless selves in doubles to clinch the tie before the reverse singles matches could even get started. Now the Americans bid to repeat really heats up as they host the powerful French team in the quarterfinals.

Tell a friend »

Comments

Write comment

You have to be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, click here to register. It only takes a minute and you'll be redirected back to this page.

Username:

Password:

Archive

Unibet Mobile prematch,live betting

Recommend Tennistalk

Follow us

Poll

Articles - Latest commented

• 
  4

  Federer, Ferrero clash in Rome third round
  

  brothdog, May 17, 2012 9:02 AM

• 
  3

  Federer wins Rome opener over Berlocq
  

  brothdog, May 17, 2012 8:55 AM

• 
  2

  Nadal headlines third-round action on Thursday
  

  nadline, May 17, 2012 8:37 AM

• 
  1

  Murray gets birthday warning swearing in victory
  

  ts38, May 17, 2012 3:15 AM

• 
  6

  Berdych, Almagro battle for Rome quarterfinals
  

  RickyDimon, May 17, 2012 2:50 AM

Blog - Latest commented

• 
  60
  Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal look to rebound on red clay
  

  deuce, May 17, 2012 9:32 AM

• 
  73
  Novak Djokovic takes up skating at the Madrid ice rink
  

  hawkeye, May 17, 2012 12:53 AM

• 
  207
  Approach shots: On-fire Federer can pass Nadal in Miami
  

  hrsikesa, May 16, 2012 4:23 PM

Tell a friend

Other tennis links

• www.sonyericssonwtatour.com
• www.atptennis.com
• www.tennis.com
• www.itftennis.com
• More links...