Davis Cup 2013 - World Group Playoff - Croatia v GB - 13-15 September

indiana · Tennis legend

RE: Davis Cup 2013 - World Group Playoff - Croatia v GB - 13-15 September

indiana · Tennis legend

Ah, apparently so given what Steven has just said re Tomas Berdych in another thread.

I guess making sure we won the tie was slightly more important than letting Dan fight for 5 ranking points !

jenks · Social player

Yes!

indiana · Tennis legend

Welcome, to the madhouse, jenks. Yes, that selfish Andy getting all the points for himself, clearly worried about his GB No 1 status !

By the way, I believe it's 5 points for one World Group Play Off "live" win and 15 points for two.

jenks · Social player

Been reading for a long time. Joined recently and obviously took the plunge today. You are, of course, correct about the DC points.

steven · Tennis legend

Yes, that's right.

Slightly linked to this (but not really, since I think ranking points for DC should be scrapped anyway in favour of making DC mandatory with 0-pointers in other tournaments the penalty for not playing), I often wonder whether it would be good for Davis Cup if they switched the order of the final day rubbers.

I assume they play no. 1s first on day 3 (i.e. as the 4th rubber) so that the spectators are more likely to see the top two players in a tie on the final day. However, it makes no. 2s much less likely to get the chance of a winnable live rubber unless the 5th rubber is live, producing the kind of pressure no. 1s would surely be better placed to handle.

In GB's case, the standard route if we win with Andy playing is:

Andy beats their no. 2 on day 1
No. 2 loses to their no. 1 on day 1
GB win the doubles on day 2
Andy beats their no. 1 on day 3
5th rubber is dead

... which makes it look like Andy does it virtually all himself.

The advantage of switching the final day rubbers would be:

No. 2s far more likely to get a competitive live rubber
If it comes down to a 5th rubber, it becomes a real blockbuster between the no. 1s

... and while we might see the no. 1s on day 3 a bit less often that way, making it significantly less likely that the very top players would have to play a live rubber on the Sunday might limit the adverse effects on them and make them a bit more willing to play in the first place.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Thoroughly agree and i was going to post something similar.

indiana · Tennis legend

I see Steven's points, but on balance I disagree. Too much chance of making the #1 vs #1 match redundant on day 3. And you really don't want that if it can be avoided.

Of course, you could totally avoid this by playing it on Day 1. But I think the DC has got it just right with the likely much more competitive #1 vs #1 and #2 vs #2 matches left to day 3 and the #1 vs #1 match being played at a likely still very important integral part of the tie

steven · Tennis legend

But making the #1 v #1 match redundant on day 3 except when it really matters is part of the reason. Obviously there are disadvantages to that too, but I think the way things are at the moment, the advantages might outweigh that, though it is easy to see why others wouldn't agree and it might appear completely different to me too if the main country I followed had similarly-ranked top players.

I do agree that switching day 1 and day 3 would make no sense though.

indiana · Tennis legend

The ideal is clearly for the tie to be locked at 2-2 and for the #1s to fight it out in the decisive match.

However, the fact that the order is as it is must mean these who matter consider the advantages of scheduling the #1s last are outweighed by the disadvantages.

Interesting arguements either way..

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

OK. Having made it safely home I will now give you some general thoughts about the weekend.

Firstly, Umag, and the resort in particular, is a fabulous place with stunningly beautiful scenery, spoiled only by there being too many fat Germans wearing budgie smugglers disbelief (Sorry if anyone is eating while reading this)

The locals were extremely friendly, except for when that last line call went against them. It all got a bit nasty at that moment.

As for the tennis, the first day was very predictable. But my abiding memory will be or seeing the blossoming talent that is Borne Coric. For 16 he has some extreme talent and although it was never going to be anything other than a Murray win, I thought Coric played really well (at times) and conducted himself with great maturity. And a 57 stroke rally in the 1st game ............ Wow.

When it came to the doubles, the decision on whether Andy was going to play or not was left entirely up to him and he was very keen to play. He actually looked a lot more mobile than he did at times against Coric. After the first two sets went our way 4 & 2, I commented that the scoreline looked a lot more sided than the match itself, which was terrifically competitive. The difference for me in the 3rd set is that Pavic, who despite being talented, was the clear weak link. He really stepped up towards the end of that set and had a purple patch that helped Croatia sneak it in a tie break. The 4th was almost over before it was begun, to the relief of many, I think.

Andy for me, really showed his class against Dodig. He controlled Dodig from the start in a similar way to which Dodig had controlled Dan on day 1. Dodig was always on the back foot, but kept it competitive until the middle of the 2nd set. At 2-3* down, he had 2 BPs to level at 3-3 but Andy defended both. From then on Dodig's body language suggested to me that the psychological battle was over and other than a brief flurry at the end, the result was never in doubt from that moment on. Dan's dead rubber was what you would expect - fast and fun. I think they were 4-3 after 18 mins !! Dan as always smiled throughout the match but was still professional (and talented) enough to get the job done. And as Leon said afterwards, 4-1 sounds so much better than 3-2 !!

But what was apparent throughout, was the camaraderie and spirit within the team. There is no doubt that they are a "unit" and not just a group of individual tennis players and coaches. Even for the dead rubber, every single member of the team was out supporting Dan - even Andy who had just come off the court after his match winning victory. Credit to the leadership for achieving what many of us thought would be impossible not so long ago - a place in the World Group.

And it is thoroughly deserved.

Apparently, many of the coaches and support staff are also avid readers here, so many congrats guys to all those unsung heroes that put in all the effort behind the scenes. All the hard work has paid off and let's hope for a decent draw on Weds.

And despite any possible selfish motives on my part, let's hope it is NOT Spain away.

Jan · Hall of fame

Bob in Spain wrote:

Apparently, many of the coaches and support staff are also avid readers here, so many congrats guys to all those unsung heroes that put in all the effort behind the scenes. All the hard work has paid off and let's hope for a decent draw on Weds.

Absolutely!

Thanks for the report Bob - glad it was such a great trip!

indiana · Tennis legend

Great to hear how much of a unit and how supportive everyone is. Seems not just the results are much improved since the John Lloyd era.

RJA · Hall of fame

indiana wrote:
Great to hear how much of a unit and how supportive everyone is. Seems not just the results are much improved since the John Lloyd era.

I don't think there is much doubt that a big part of why the results have improved is the team spirit that Leon has built.