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2008-11-17 23:03:08
"Approach Shots" is Ricky's weekly look at what’s ahead (or "approaching") on the ATP Tour. Every Sunday he'll preview all the tournaments scheduled for the upcoming week.
An incredible 2008 season has come and gone, but not for the eight players and two countries contesting this weekend’s Davis Cup final. It’s Spain vs. Argentina for the title, and after plenty of controversy and not-so-good news leading up to the all-important tie, now it's finally time just to play the game. Argentina took a long time determining where to host the event and David Nalbandian even threatened not to play depending on the outcome of the decision. Once that issue was resolved, Rafael Nadal’s bum knee stole all the headlines. At long last, however, the final is just days away and Argentina and Spain can get down to business and settle things on the court.
Where: Mar del Plata, Argentina
Surface: Indoor Hard
Spain: David Ferrer, Marcel Granollers, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco
Argentina: Jose Acasuso, Agustin Calleri, David Nalbandian, Juan Martin del Potro
Spain will be without Rafael Nadal, the No. 1 player in the world. Argentina will be without sporting icon and rabid Davis Cup fan Diego Maradona, who is now the coach of the national soccer team. Advantage: Argentina!
Nadal is suffering from knee tendinitis, a problem that forced him out of his Masters Series Paris semifinal match against Nikolay Davydenko and also prevented him from playing the Masters Cup. The Spaniard had hoped not going to Shanghai would allow him to be ready for the Davis Cu final, but that did not turn out to be the case. Unheralded Marcel Granollers, who was a surprise title winner in Houston this spring, replaces Nadal on the Spanish team. That's not what one would refer to as an even trade.
As a result, captain Emilio Sanchez is going to have to work some magic in order to pull off a Spanish upset. Because the final is on indoor hard courts (Argentina chose that surface to keep the Spaniards off their beloved clay), Feliciano Lopez will probably get the nod in singles on both Friday and Sunday. He is one of the few Spaniards in history who actually prefers hard courts to clay, which he does due to his booming serve and prowess at the net. Furthermore, David Ferrer has been mired in a dismal slump ever since the start of the U.S. Open series. Verdasco has been up-and-down in 2008, but he has not enough to make Sanchez's decision between Verdasco and Ferrer a difficult one.
Granollers is an accomplished doubles player, but it might not be in Spain's best interest to break up the Lopez-Verdasco duo. Lopez and Verdasco are not only stalwarts of Davis Cup doubles, but they also play regularly in ATP tournaments. If one of them performs at a sub-par level during Friday's singles matches, however, Granollers could get the call.
Argentina's lineup should be more straightforward. David Nalbandian is an indoor-court genius (he won both Masters Series titles in Madrid and Paris last year) and he recently resurrected his game by reaching the Paris final, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Juan Martin Del Potro is no longer taking the tennis world by storm like he did this summer when he won four straight events in between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, but the 6'6'' 20-year-old is still playing well. Nalbandian and Del Potro will be the go-to guys in singles on both Friday and Sunday. Argentina will be favored in all four singles rubbers, and all they need is three points, so there is probably no reason to put Nalbandian or Del Potro in doubles. Agustin Calleri and Jose Acasuso are capable players, but they will be underdogs against whatever combination the Spaniards throw out there among Granollers, Verdasco, and Lopez. Still, it will be of little importance as long as the Argentines take care of business in singles.
Prediction: Argentina 4, Spain 1
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
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what do you mean "next time"??? There's never been a "first time," because I don't consider predictions after tournaments are already over to be real predictions....
RickyDimon , 11/26/08 3:38 PM
Well next time you predict; perhaps at the AO 2009, I'll look at your predictions and know that the opposite will happen.
Bottomline is; you don't know when a player can hit his form. At one point this year, I was expecting Federer to end 2009 no. 1 and Djokovic no. 2. Now Fed finds himself 10 points clear of Djokovic at no. 2.
samprallica , 11/30/08 1:21 PM
Mon 14/05 03:45
Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal look to rebound on red clay
Sun 06/05 03:03
Approach Shots: Tangled up in blue at Madrid Masters
Mon 30/04 05:57
Approach Shots: Djokovic out, Del Potro starts French Open prep
Mon 23/04 05:29
Approach Shots: Nadal, Murray return to action in Barcelona
Sat 21/04 19:01
Monte Carlo final expert picks: Djokovic vs. Nadal
Mon 16/04 02:46
Approach Shots: Djokovic, Nadal begin clay season in Monte Carlo
Tue 10/04 15:48
Approach Shots: Houston, Casablanca begin clay-court swing
Thu 05/04 18:40
Approach Shots: Davis Cup precedes clay-court swing
Tue 27/03 16:14
John Isner Top 10 tribute
Wed 21/03 05:08
Approach shots: On-fire Federer can pass Nadal in Miami
Thu 08/03 07:03
Approach shots: First Masters event of the year in Indian Wells
Tue 28/02 18:41
Approach Shots: Federer, Djokovic back in action
Mon 20/02 05:10
Approach Shots: Ferrer, Tsonga, Del Potro headline busy week
Sun 12/02 15:44
Approach Shots: Federer looks to rebound in Rotterdam
Thu 09/02 21:21
Approach Shots: Federer headlines Davis Cup first round
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Ricky Ricky Ricky..... Next time I predict I'll just look at what you predicted. Makes it easier.
samprallica , 11/26/08 1:14 PM