Davis Cup World Group Play-Offs

Eight ties were played last week to determine who will be taking part in the Davis Cup proper for 2012. Here are the results:

Romania 0-5 Czech Republic

Not a chance for the Romanians who played the tie at home on clay but were not a match for 2009 finalists, Czech Republic, who only dropped a set en route to a whitewash.

Russia 3-2 Brazil

Russia just about held on to their World Group status thanks to a 14-12 fifth set win by Youzhny against Bellucci. One of the driving forces in the history of tennis, relegation would have been disastrous for Russia but they just about stayed on top of an emerging nation. Russia are on the down and will need to change things drastically in order to keep in the top tier of the Davis Cup whereas Brazil are finally recovering from the days of Kuerten and Meligeni with Bellucci, Melo, Soares and many other players appearing on tour.

Israel 2-3 Canada

This was a clash of two smaller nations with a real chance of making it into the World Group. Israel have recently experienced top tier tennis but couldn't continue that trend after losing to Canada in the deciding rubber. Canada will be a nation to look out in the future who have made it into the World Group earlier than expected. Milos Raonic and upcoming youngster Vasek Pospisil lead the canucks with a very trustworthy veteran by the name of Daniel Nestor backing them up in the doubles.

South Africa 1-4 Croatia

South Africa fall just short at this stage for the third year in a row. They are very much a one player side with Kevin Anderson winning his only match impressively against Ivan Dodig. Croatia meanwhile continue at the top level of the game with Cilic and Dodig doing the business for them but they shouldn't expect for too much in the World Group, especially if drawn away from home.

Chile 1-4 Italy

Talking of nations on the down, Chile's golden era looks to have finished. Although the South Americans have never experienced a good run in the Davis Cup, with a couple of quarter finals being their best showing, the Massu-Gonzalez combo unlocked the nation's trophy cabinet with a couple of medals at the '04 and '08 Olympics and two World Team Cups in '03 and '04. Now at the end of their careers their drop into Division 1 could mean the end of World Group action for a while. Italy on the other hand have a large amount of decent players who have been asking for World Group tennis for a while and finally have it. Fognini and Seppi could beat almost anyone on their day and Bracciali/Starace/Bolelli have impressive doubles results. They lose a lot when not on clay so will be looking for a home draw.

Japan 4-1 India

Japan returns to the Davis Cup for the first time since 1985. India at home was almost the best thing they could've asked for in a Play-Off and they didn't let the chance pass. If Kei Nishikori can stay fit then they've got a strong player in the singles. Soeda, Ito and Sugita are solid back-ups but perhaps not strong enough to stay in the World Group.

Belgium 1-4 Austria

A classic encounter between two fringe European nations who love to play their ties on quick indoor courts and aim to surprise a bigger nation in the early rounds. Beforehand it was difficult to predict who would prevail between these two closely matched nations. Jurgen Melzer was the standout player of the tie but was surprisely defeated by Darcis in the second rubber. Austria had a little bit too much for the Belgians though, with Marach-Peya a consolidated doubles pairing and Haider-Maurer a tough Challenger Tour player proving too strong.

Australia 2-3 Switzerland

The toughest draw of the play-offs as was proved by the nail biting result. Federer came to the rescue of his nation to put them back in the World Group. Australia aren't the dominant force of old but it looks like they are turning a corner with Bernard Tomic who put in a solid performance by defeating Wawrinka and taking a set off Federer. Guccione and Hewitt recorded a good win over Olympic doubles champions Federer/Wawrinka but in the end Stan beat Lleyton in the 5th set of the 5th rubber. Switzerland could have a good run in the cup if Federer turns up and Wawrinka finds some form. As for Australia we should expect to see them in the play-offs next year.

Davis Cup Review

World Group Semi-Finals:

Spain 4-1 France

No surprises here, Spain haven't been beaten at home on the red stuff since 1999 when Kuerten and his Brazilian mates defeated Corretja and co in Lleida. Nadal destroyed Gasquet and Tsonga, whilst Ferrer did the same with Simon. Llodra and Tsonga severely beat Verdasco and Lopez to offer a glimmer of a hope but ultimately it wasn't enough as the Armada gained revenge for last year's whitewash in the quarters.

Serbia 2-3 Argentina

The defending champions fall without the help of world number one Djokovic. Novak rested out Friday's singles with Nalbandian and Del Potro making the most of this opening by defeating Troicki and Tipsarevic respectively. Serbia took the doubles but Djokovic retired when trailing by a set and 3-0 to Del Potro in the 4th rubber handing Argentina the tie.

So the final in December will see a classic duel between arguably the two best male tennis nations of this century. Argentina have been on the downhill since the days of Coria, Gaudio, Puerta or Calleri but the recoveries of Del Potro and Nalbandian (on and off injuries still hamper David) offer the South American nation another shot at their first Davis Cup having lost 3 finals, the most recent of which precisely against Spain on home turf in 2008.

Spain on the other hand are still the driving force in male tennis with 14 players in the top 100 including 10 time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, world number 5 Ferrer and lefties Verdasco and Lopez. The spaniards will be aiming at their 5th title in what is their third final in four years. With the tie being played on clay in Spain, Argentina are going to have to pull something extraordinary out of the bag.

February Update

February is a fascinating part of the season with three options every week: claycourts in Latinamerica, hard courts in the US and indoor tennis in Europe. The draws are flooded with pretty much the same players every week and a patters ends up appearing.

In Latin America, Nicolas Almagro has been the top dog, winning in Costa do Sauipe and Buenos Aires and now aiming for number three in succession in Acapulco.

In the USA, Milos Raonic has emerged as the surprise package of the 2011 season. The young Canadian took the title in San Jose defeating Verdasco in the final, he proved this was no fluke when a few days later he took out the Spaniard again in the first round of Memphis, where he reached the final losing in three tough sets to Roddick, This week Raonic switches surface to the red stuff in Mexico.

Meanwhile in Europe, Soderling has been dominant. The Swede won in Rotterdam and Marseille proving he is a step above other players on indoor and really belongs with the big three or four players in world tennis.

This week Delray Beach, Acapulco and Dubai host tournaments.

Star For 2011: Grigor Dimitrov

Born in the little known town of Hoskovo, Bulgaria in 1991, Grigor Dimitrov could get his nation on the tennis map in 2011 if his natural progression continues. In order to fulfill his dream, Dimitrov has moved to the illustrious Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris where the likes of Baghdatis, Ancic, Simon and Karlovic took their first steps.

Anyone who's seen this stylish Bulgarian play immediately reaches the same conclusion: we are looking at a young Roger Federer. As a writer, I personally disagree fiercely with dubbing sportsmen as the new whoever but Dimitrov's similarities with Federer are uncanny.

It comes as no surprise then that Grigor's idol is the Swiss maestro. As a junior, Dimitrov reached a ranking of World number 3, taking the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles in 2008 and making it to the final of the prestigious Orange Bowl in 2007.

His impressive game guaranteed him Wild Card entries to various tournaments in 2008 but he was unable to make an impression and making the transition from junior to pro was being much tougher than expected.

It's not easy to grind it out in the lower categories of tennis and more so if you're hearing how good you are on a daily basis but Dimitrov has had no choice but do it the hard way, showing both maturity and humbleness.

Dimitrov started the year at 288 in the world, not even ensuring him a direct acceptance into Challenger event which meant he had to earn a spot via qualifying or even enter a few Future events.

After a run of three Future titles (Germany F9, F10 and Spain F29) he entered the Geneva Challenger in August oozing confidence. A tough three sets victory in the final over Andujar ensured the Bulgarian 80 points and a rise of 55 places in the rankings which meant he could now concentrate on the Challenger tour.

With his mind at ease, Dimitrov could play his real tennis fear free and two more Challenger titles followed at the end of the season (Bangkok, Bangkok 2). With the official season over, Dimitrov finds himself knocking on the door of the Top 100 at 106 thus cementing a direct entry at the 2011 Australian Open.

The sky is the limit for Dimitrov, who will try and show why he is seen as a mirror image of Roger Federer. I for one am confident that by this time next year Grigor Dimitrov will be a household name.

Curtain Closes on 2010

The ATP season came to a spectacular end in London last week. After years of testing and searching it seems the World Tour Finals have found a home. The O2 arena is a fantastic setting for what was a championship to remember.

The fans and directors got the semi final line up they'd dreamed of: Djokovic v Federer and Murray v Nadal. The latter of these turned out to be one of the best tennis matches of the year in terms of excitement, ups and downs and general quality of the tennis. Murray seemed to be steaming towards the final when his big serve was helping him to a 4-1 lead in the deciding tie break but Nadal is no ordinary opponent. The Spaniard, once again, pulled a remarkable come back off to take the breaker 8-6. This mans mental strength knows no limits, it is quite simply a pleasure to see a player with his heart and determination play.

The second semi final was more of a let down. Federer had been destroying opponent after opponent during the week but Djokovic is never an easy rival. Yet the Serb, possibly with one eye on next weeks Davis Cup, didn't turn up and Federer continued his devastating form to set up the dream finale.

With Nadal's long semi final, there was only one favourite for the final and when Federer took the first set 6-3, alot of people were rushing to the bookies to put their money on a straight sets victory. But we already know by now who Rafael Nadal is. With the pride of a world number one, he snatched the second set by an identical score. The last set though proved to be a bridge too far. Federer's game wasn't dropping and Rafa's stamina levels were. Roger breased to a 6-1 victory and ensured himself a fifth World Tour Championship.

Congratulations also to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic who won their segund World Tour Title in a row by defeating Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi in the final

Adiós Charly

No suelo escribir en español en este blog pero, como le pasó a Rafa, para hablar de Carlos Moyá sólo podía hacerlo en este idioma.

No sé por dónde empezar hablando de este genio, quiero asegurarme que el artículo esté al nivel que se merece. Para un chico de mi generación, que ha crecido en los años noventa, Moyá es el primer capitán de la Armada Española. Somos conscientes de los logros de Bruguera y Berasategui pero no los vivimos con nitidez. Mi primer recuerdo de un tenista español haciendo algo notorio en el circuito es la final de Moyá en Australia en el 97. Dejando de camino en la cuneta a nombres históricos como Becker y Chang (todo esto a los 20 años). Sólo el gran Pete Sampras sería un obstáculo demasiado duro en la final.

Un año después llegaría el triunfo en Roland Garros, venciendo a su gran amigo Alex Corretja en la final, quien se vengaría en la final de la Copa Masters a finales de año.

Lo que ha dejado huella de Charly, a parte de uno de las mejores derechas de los últimos años, ha sido su personalidad. Encuentra una persona que hable mal de Moyá, que no diga que es buena persona y me llamas. Como aficionado de tenis sientes afinidad a los buenos jugadores pero se tiene una conexión más especial con aquellos que te transmiten algo más como personas. Con Moyá las derrotas duras, aquellas en las que tiraba una ventaja de un set y un break dolían...y mucho. De hecho te quedabas unos días fastidiado. Lo mismo pasaba al revés, cuando ganaba un partido importante o un torneo, era como si ganaba un amigo o un familiar. Esto queda demostrado en la Copa Davis de 2004. Ganaba España, pero la felicidad era porque Moyá ganaba el punto definitivo.

En fin, a lo más jóvenes que no pudieron disfrutar los buenos años de Moyá, que vean vídeos del mallorquín porque es un ejemplo. El fruto lo tenemos en Nadal. Demos gracias a que su padrino fue Charly, no sólo porque ha aprendido de un gran jugador, sino porque ha asimilado un comportamiento ejemplar. Una manera de comportarse en la victoria y la derrota.

Gracias Charly por lo que has significado para tenis español.

Datos de su carrera:

Partidos Ganados: 575

Partidos Perdidos: 319

Mejor Ranking: 1

Títulos: 20

Ganancias: $13,443,970

All Eyes On London

So another "regular" season of the ATP comes to an end. Not as an exciting run in as other years given that the top 8 players were basically unmoveable in their spots but an entertaining week in Paris as ever.

Paris is also a good barometer to establish who's going to be hot in London and who's not. Before we start measuring the finalists' chances, a mention must go to Gael Monfils who turned it on once more infront of his local Parisian crowd. That's two finals in succesion in the French capital, and heavy scalps en route such as Verdasco, Murray and Federer.

As for London, the first name that springs to mind is Soderling. Very solid performance in Paris and the perfect game to suit these fast indoor courts. A very serious contender for the Finals title.

Federer seems to be in the best shape of the "big four" but that defeat against Monfils left serious question marks about his game at the latter stages of a tournament.

Nadal is a question mark, no one knows what sort of game he'll be bringing to London. Even a 50% Rafa can cause damage as proved at the '09 US Open. He'll be hungry to take the last piece of silver ware on offer for him in the world of tennis.

Djokovic seems to have lost a bit of gas as the season has come to an end. The opposite to other years where the Serb would dominate season ending tournaments. Perhaps his mind is set on the Davis Cup.

Murray is another case of a player suffering from a long season of tennis. His defeats to Monaco in Valencia and Monfils in Paris prove he is vulnerable right now. It was a gruelling week for the Scot in Paris being taken to three sets against Nalbandian, Cilic and Monfils. He will need the British support to lift him in London.

Berdych is another player on the down. His end to the season has been very disappointing with a 4-8 record since Toronto where he reached the quarters. Right game for London but based on form, I'm backing Berdych for the wooden spoon.

Ferrer will be seen as the weak link in London. He has probably been seen as this in pretty much every major event but what the Spaniard lacks in finesse he more than makes up for in heart. After all this is his second appearance at the year end finals and last time (2007) he made the final beating Nadal, Djokovic, Gasquet and Roddick on the way.

Roddick finally makes an apperance in London. The American has spoken about how much he wanted to be there this year after an injury forced him to withdraw last year. He is a dark horse in the competition, nothing to lose, no points to defend and a big serve to go with a quick court.

ATP Review prediction: Impossible to predict a World Tour Finals event.