Why Tsonga is not playing singles at this series ?

I'm hoping for France to win this tie. They've been so close too many times, only to be disappointed. I hope that this will be their time. DC was very detrimental psychologically for Paul henri Mathieu, and I hope it won't be the same for Simon. C'mon Gillou, keep hitting tons of balls.

This will be an ordeal for Simon. He always seems to struggle in Davis Cup matches and I remember him sobbing his heart out after losing the match against Stepanek (he'd already lost against Berdych) which put France out of the 2009 Davis Cup in the first round.

Tsonga played instead of Simon and got thrashed by Rafa in starights - 0,2,4

Spain through to final

Will Djoko now pull it through for Serbia?

Rafa and Novak slugging it out for their national pride and country- mouthwatering contest I must say

Good win by Rafa, he's simply awesome today. He should play like this always! Aggressive, deep penetrating groundstokes, good gets, and chooses the right time to come to the net. Very happy for him and for Spain, to be in the DC final again! Vamos!

Lucky: Furious I had to miss this match :-(

Thanks for the overview of Rafa's game. Not surprised Forget substituted Tsonga - I dont think poor Simon could have lived with losing for his country again. But I was surprised Tsonga put up such a poor show. Why do you think that was? Normally he thrives on the big stage moments and rises to the occasion.

Ed, Tsonga serves well big today but he makes lots of errors. I think he's going for
too much as he knows he can't stay with Rafa on clay. Rafa simply returns as many shots as possible with his deep penetrating groundstrokes and he hardly miss any. Tsonga didn't even get to break Rafa's serve, not even once. Tsonga tried some drop shots with success after his big serves forced Rafa back away from the baseline and Rafa dashed to save them but netted some and some were blocked back by Tsonga for a winner. In the third set, Rafa managed to track down one drop shot, return with a lob that Tsonga tried to return but hit it out. That's about all Tsonga could do and I could see his frustration written all over his face and over his body language.

Really, I'm pleased with how positive Rafa is in this DC tie; looking at him, one can't tell that he has just lost a slam final a few days ago. I hope all these bode well for him going forward, and certainly look for him to play this way in every match he's going to play in future. Rafa can be an aggressive player, it's strange that sometimes he goes all defensive when clearly he can use his big weapons to attack more and wins his matches sooner instead of having to grind his way to a win.

Great for Spain and Rafa that he was able to secure the win in such style. From what I heard on the commentary Rafa was in fantastic form and the atmosphere was electric. Rafa was just able to neutralise Tsonga from what the commentators were saying. I did not see the match so I don't know. I'm sure the home crowd helped a lot. So pleased for Rafa and Spain .........Vamos!

Well Tsonga made 78 errors - forced + unforced and Rafa made just 18..That pretty much sums it up

Lucky - Where is the SRB-ARG tie played and on which surface?

Bravo Rafa!!! Real hero he is! So the finals will be played in Spain on clay I believe...Vamos Rafa!!!

sanju: in Belgrade - which makes Djokovic's losing to del Potro twice as humiliating for him.

Forget makes some bizarre decisions. Simon would have been a better choice. Tsonga keeps points too short and Rafa is OBVIOUSLY superior to Tsonga on clay. Quite decisive for Spain, I'd say.

Excellent for Rafa and for Spain.

It bears repeating that tennis at this level is more than 50% mental/emotional. It seems that confidence is the crucial factor in Rafa's matches so often... I wish he could be more confident to play more aggressively in those matches where he really needs to and hesitates to.

I finally got a chance to watch my recording of Rafa's match. I was thrilled to see him play so well against Tsonga. I noticed that Rafa was serving extremely well. He seemed very comfortable, confident and totally in his element on the clay. He didn't look tired and went for his shots. It was great to see him moving into the court and closing out points more quickly. Where has this aggressive game been?

I am so proud of Rafa for being able to put the USO loss behind him and come out playing some of his best tennis to get the win for Spain and put them in the finals.

Well done, Rafa!

Congratulations to all the Spanish team - they deserved their win. I am looking forward to the final in December.

It will beplayed indoor? Surely they make a clay indoor? probbly just throw a few cube of lanzarote beachsand in a circle and let Nadal grunt his way to the cup

All congrats to Rafa and team.... it was pleasure to watch such tennis...

Watching Rafa on clay is just unbelievable. He SO belongs there. Very focused play and tremendous dedication and effort after playing the grinding US open final.

The final will be in Spain on clay. As to where exactly....let the turf, er, clay wars begin!

Btw, clay is Argentina's preferred surface, except vs La Armada.

Forget makes some bizarre decisions. Simon would have been a better choice.
cherylmurray, 9/18/11 6:37 PM

Doubt that Cheryl. Simon is a known choker/crybaby in Davis Cup. Plus he only took 6 games off of Ferrer who is not as good as Rafa.

'Where has this aggressive game been?' NNY.

Exactly! I was asking the same question myself while watching the match. Why can't he played this way during the USO final? And while Nole was having his back problem since the beginning of USO! Rafa's serve and court positioning were the difference at the USO.

Well what's done can't be undone. This year is Nole'a year for sure. It's good for Nole that he has fulfilled his ambition of becoming the no.1 player and also winning Wimbledon. What more becoming the sixth man to win three slams in one year and currently having a stellar season like JMac's up to this point in the season. It's just unfortunate for Rafa that all these have to come at his expense. Well there's always next year, and judging by how well he plays here even when he's obviously tired physically at least, it bodes well for Rafa's season next year. I think that third set at the USO final served as an enlightenment for Rafa, that he should look to play his aggressive game always. See how soon he can finish and win this match with his aggressive game? Why spend unnecessary time and energy out there when he can do a better job and wraps things up earlier. Rafa please remember this match and plays like this always!

lucky,

Yes!! Maybe Uncle Toni could make a video and play it for Rafa so he can see the difference!

I found myself shaking my head and wondering where on earth this game has been! At least we know that Rafa can still do it, the question is why he doesn't do it more often. It was exactly the right way to play someone like Tsonga. He kept him off balance and out of his rhythm. Tsonga seemed to have a sluggish start out there. He didn't seem to be all that comfortable, however I have to believe that seeing Rafa on the other side of the net on clay in his home country of Spain, had something to do with it.

I agree with you about that third set in the USO final. Rafa found the answer, but it was two sets too late! I really was so happy to see Rafa playing this well right after that tough USO final. Maybe it was being back in Spain, back in the clay that he loves so much. He was playing with his teammates for his country and it brought out the best in him.

I do think this is a very good sign for next year. At least we know that Rafa does remember how to play this way, that it's still there inside him. I was smiling all throughout this match and it really lifted my spirits.

The courts have to be extremely slow for Rafa to play like this.

nirv02,

Oh and you would know, being the great Rafa fan that you are - NOT! :)

Yes NNY. I know Rafa has this game all along but somehow for some reasons ( and I think Nole is the main reason), he's not able to play this way during this season. Somehow I feel it's a combination of a few factors: his fitness, Nole, his game, and the burden ( yes it's a burden) of defending so many ranking points and titles especially the three slam titles when he's not in his 2010 form. I see an unhappy Rafa during this clay season, just like when he's in 2009. Prior to 2009, Rafa was always the happiest during his beloved clay season, but not since. Even in his best year, 2010, he was so tensed during the clay season as he was looking to reclaim his FO crown, and reaffirmed his undisputed 'king of clay' status.

Going forward, I wish for him to be fit and healthy and plays like he plays in this DC tie, on all surfaces. The surface here may be slow, but so do MC and RG, so Rafa playing like this should bode well for him during the clay seasons. He needs to flatten his shots for the grass and hard courts and serves well. He needs his aggressive game going forward, as I see Delpo is slowly getting back to his good level; Nole will be Nole; and there're Murray and Fed.

Very likely a Davis Cup win for Argentina will do for Delpo what it did for Novak.
2012 will be the return of the "pounderer".

Well we shall see, it all depends on the teams. The interesting matches to me will be Ferrer vs Delpo and Ferrer vs Nalby on clay. Let's see whether Ferrer can play like playstation Davy and moves Delpo around on clay. Also Ferrer is a good returner of serves, may be no.2 or 3 in terms of ROS, also playing on clay vs indoor hard courts, I think Delpo's serves are more potent on hard courts than on clay. No wonder Nole mentioned he had difficulty returning Delpo's serves, as Delpo's game and serves were/are the most potent on hard courts.

If Nadal plays for Spain, then no chance of them losing in December. (given that it will be played on clay)

But Delpos best run into a grand slam after US Open came at the French Open

Cant really compare a one time Semi-finalist to a 6 time champion:-)

Yes ofcourse .. I believe Novaks best run into wimbledon before he won it ..was ?
Sorry to rub it in atul.. but you know , being a fan comes with a price.

Nole has being to two semifinals at Wimbledon, as early as 2007, and then last year before he wins it this year! He's also a quarterfinalist in 2009, must we doubt his abilities? Now in 2009, if Nole was not mentally destroyed after that Madrid match against Rafa, who knows he would be the one beating Delpo at the QF at RG! If I'm not wrong, Nole had just beaten Delpo in Rome that year on clay. To me Delpo was fortunate that year to reach the semifinal of the FO. His credentials on clay is still not good enough to threaten Rafa. Maybe even Ferrer is good enough to deal with Delpo on clay. Oh yes, not forgetting too that Fed wasn't playing great during FO 2009 and was pushed to four sets by both Acususo and Matthieu to four sets and Haas to five sets before meeting Delpo in the semi.