Davis Cup Fri Jan 31/Feb 1 and 2

First topic message reminder :

Fabulous match in world group between Kazakhstan and visitors Belgium. It went to a final set which Golubev finally took 12-10 to give K a 2-0 lead in the tie. Goffin had numerous MPs (at least five) on the Golubev serve in that final set but G held on and finally got the break at 11-10. Goffin then saved four MPs before G eventually got the match after more than four and a half hours.
  Fed - a last-minute entry for Switzerland - had a tussle with Serbia's Ilija Bozoljac (no, I'd not heard of him either) before winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. The Serb, serving plenty of aces, broke Fed early in the second and Rog was 2-5 down facing set point. But he then took seven games in a row and eased through in the end.
   Have said before the DC should not be played every year but there is no doubt the players who choose to play in it really give their all. Doubt the Kazakh crowd considered it was a pointless tournament when their man finally pulled through today.

Murray breaks!! 4-2!

A hold, we're one game away....

Match point!

Saved.

He's making a hash of it!! 2 BPs for Querrey!!

Both saved!!

Yes!!!! Well done Andy, well done Wardy too!! Absolutely disgusted to admit I missed the match point because I was distracted by something else.

Advance Britannia! You've done yourselves proud; you've done your country proud.

Italy next which is certainly winnable. Fognini on clay is a different challenge to Querrey but you'd have to think Murray can win that one against a pretty weaponless opponent. Seppi will be the number 2 and is again pretty weaponless so Murray should win these 2 matches. GB will probably start favourite in the doubles too, especially if Murray plays, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about this one.

Great team effort from GB!  However, when you have Donald Young as the No 2 in the team you know that the team is weak - the USA did have a moderately weak team so I am not sure Courier could have done much differently.

It seems to me that Leon Smith is able to get players like Jamie Ward & Dan Evans playing like top 100 players.  That is what Britain lacks - a number of top 100 ranked players.  Roger Draper claimed his master plans would achieve about 10 top 100 players by the end of his reign (men & women combined) - but getting into the top 100 and staying there seems to be a step too far for the vast majority of British players.

The BBC wrote:GB earn historic Davis Cup win

The above was the BBC headline to the report that the Great British team beat the USA team in the Davis Cup. The GB team was comprised the world's no 6 ranked player and the world's no 175 ranked player against the US' world no 49 player and the world's no 79 player. Throw in a some doubles players, some slippy clay courts, give it all a strong mix ... and hey presto ... it's historic ... or at least the headline is historic.

It's overhyped sports reporting that puts me right off sport.

NoreStaat - Alas, "historic" in journalism means something that has already happened !
  Saw the last few games of the Murray-Querry match. Knew that Sam would come out fighting and reckoned that he might get a set but no more. Murray is so rock solid in these sort of matches as his DC singles record shows.
   GB have a great chance against Italy. Very pleased it's not Argentina as that would have been tough home or away particularly if Delpo was fit.
  Leon Smith must be doing something right. The squad seems a happy one and it looks as if Murray is keen to play and enjoys doing so. Am, optimistically, looking forward to a s-f against Switzerland which I'm sure Fed is bound to want to play in. Andy v Rog in a DC semi.....now that could be something. GB, I think, would be at home. Wouldn't like to be the one having to decide what surface to play on.

The Special Juan wrote:Italy next which is certainly winnable.  Fognini on clay is a different challenge to Querrey but you'd have to think Murray can win that one against a pretty weaponless opponent.  Seppi will be the number 2 and is again pretty weaponless so Murray should win these 2 matches.  GB will probably start favourite in the doubles too, especially if Murray plays, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about this one.

I think you are under-estimating Fognini's ability on clay and Seppi's too - he did take Djokovic to 5 sets at Roland Garros (albeit a very nervy Djokovic when he was aiming for 4 slams in a row). It's winnable of course, but I'd put Italy as favourites.

Yeah would have preferred Argentina at home. Fognini probably starts as narrow favourite against Andy on clay and we will probably need Andy to win both singles and the doubles. That said, I can see Murray playing lights out as playing in front of a hostile crowd usually brings the best out of him.

Born Slippy. Admit Italy away will be tough. Some might recall a thrilling DC tie at home to Italy in the 1970s when the italian support, even away from home, was amazing (GB won in the end).
Doubles will be crucial and this time we won't have to play against a crack pair like the Bryans. Somewhat unfairly, the DC is really all about the team who have one outstanding singles player and a reliable doubles team. (If you have two outstanding singles players, that's even better)

It's a pretty wide-open competition this year - on paper France look very strong, and with Spain and Serbia out of the way, Federer looking as though he may be able and inclined put in a decent shift this year, and Wawrinka possibly playing with the elan of a Slam winner, Switzerland may have the best chance they'll have for a long time.

B'star. Yes, the Swiss must fancy their chances. Could be a France-Switzerland final this year. Slightly different DC in 2014 with Murray and Fed likely to feature prominently rather than Djoko and Rafa. Still don't think they should play the DC every year, but there's no doubt that it's very exciting.

Who have Switzerland got next? Seems to me that is the one there is most chance of Fed skipping.

Worth noting that Wardy will get a few ranking points for his win over Querrey - the advantage of being in the World group!

Born Slippy wrote:Who have Switzerland got next? Seems to me that is the one there is most chance of Fed skipping.

Worth noting that Wardy will get a few ranking points for his win over Querrey - the advantage of being in the World group!

Yes and Ward is now just nine spots behind Dan Evans in the rankings at 156. Evans has won two qualifying matches so far for a 250 tournament and so another win could see him scoop a few more ranking points as well for reaching the main draw (he plays Phau at noon today in a qualifier).

Switzerland have Khazakstan I think - I think that Federer out to put in a full shift this year if he wants a DC on his resume, the Swiss understudies are not good enough to support one top player.

YvonneT wrote:

The Special Juan wrote:Italy next which is certainly winnable.  Fognini on clay is a different challenge to Querrey but you'd have to think Murray can win that one against a pretty weaponless opponent.  Seppi will be the number 2 and is again pretty weaponless so Murray should win these 2 matches.  GB will probably start favourite in the doubles too, especially if Murray plays, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic about this one.

I think you are under-estimating Fognini's ability on clay and Seppi's too - he did take Djokovic to 5 sets at Roland Garros (albeit a very nervy Djokovic when he was aiming for 4 slams in a row). It's winnable of course, but I'd put Italy as favourites.

I know more about Seppi's game than Fognini as I've only ever seen the latter once and he was given a thrashing, albeit it was on a hard court. I think the Murray-Fognini match will decide the tie though, whatever way it goes.

Murray has won his previous meetings against both Seppi and Fognini on the red stuff. Admittedly he played Fognini in 09 and Seppi in 10, but I really don't think you can call Fognini favourite in that match-up. I think Murray starts as a decent favourite in both matches, and fully expect him to win both. Unfortunately I don't think Ward will beat either (they're both that little bit too solid for him, especially on clay, but you never know) so unless Edmund shows some massive improvement it could come down to the doubles...

Feds tweeted this.

Roger Federer ✔ @rogerfederer
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