Davis Cup 2013 - E-A Zone Group I R2 - GB v Russia - 5-7 April

daisy · County player

RE: Davis Cup 2013 - E-A Zone Group I R2 - GB v Russia - 5-7 April

spud · Challenger qualifying

Unless Jamie is injured that must be annoying for him? He's come all the way back from Guadeloupe to probably return for the Mexico/USA challenger stint?

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Interview with Dino in today's Evening Standard.

Miriambee · Futures level

daisy wrote:
SPARE TICKET
Due to illness our AMFF group now has a spare 3day ticket AND a spare seat for Saturday.
Please PM me if you are interested; I'm leaving at 08.00 tomorrow morning so after that wont' have internet for a while and it'd be better to leave a message in this thread.

daisy, I'll take the saturday ticket off you, if nobody else has claimed it - many thanks!!

Sorry, I don't know how to do the PM, if you PM me first it might help!

I have to go out now for a couple of hours, but am around for the rest of the day.

Miriam

Count Zero · Tennis legend

spud wrote:
Unless Jamie is injured that must be annoying for him? He's come all the way back from Guadeloupe to probably return for the Mexico/USA challenger stint?

Smith has previous on this, he called Boggo over one year, making him miss out on the Dallas challenger (and the chance to defend a lot of points), and depsite good showing in training (inc taking sets of Andy) he opted not to include him in the team. Still Boggo being badly treated by the LTA is hardly news is it smile

spud · Challenger qualifying

Do the players still get paid in DC ties? If Leon has brought Jamie over for no reason...

indiana · Tennis legend

The players picked should be the players Leon reckons have the most chance of winning. Noone "deserves" to be picked unless that is conclusively the case from their recent form.

I am far from convinced about Evo, ( and he is not a player that I generally have that much time for ) and would have gone with James and Jamie, even with Jamie's rather underwhelming recent form. But maybe that was the ( too ) safe option.

Such has been that form, he was rightly at risk to anyone that Leon considered had the form and / or other variables likely to give more chance of the win. Also bearing in mind what some others have said re Evo ( and at his best he can clearly play quite a bit further than most above his ranking ) and that Leon will have seen them in action, I see no reason to doubt his call.

The main surprise to me is that I wasn't even aware Evo was with the squad.

Slightly strange remark from Neil Harman implying that questions might be asked if GB lose a tie "for which they are long odds against". Surely that would be much more likely with a rather surprise selection when favourites.

The Magician Santoro · Top national player

It really annoys me how the Davis Cup seems to mess up a lot of people's schedule, I can understand for the two guys playing and having a 5th guy as a reserve, but we've got two additional spares there too, who will not be playing, and could be picking up points elsewhere.

indiana · Tennis legend

I see no reason not to bring players across if you are still seriously considering them.

Given Jamie was an original selection, I suspect that still was the case with him except his ongoing form was maybe giving Leon increasing doubts. Having him at close quarters to see playing and to talk to makes sense to me.

Similarly with Boggo if he was seriously being considered on that previous instance the Count refers to. I don't though recall the circumstances there. The Count clearly knows more, but I would still guess ( and hope ) though that Leon has simply made a prifessional call there that Boggo ( and the Count ) didn't like. And I do think Biggo has been treated very poorly on previous occasions to that.

daisy · County player

Miriambee wrote:
daisy wrote:
SPARE TICKET
Due to illness our AMFF group now has a spare 3day ticket AND a spare seat for Saturday.
Please PM me if you are interested; I'm leaving at 08.00 tomorrow morning so after that wont' have internet for a while and it'd be better to leave a message in this thread.
daisy, I'll take the saturday ticket off you, if nobody else has claimed it - many thanks!!
Sorry, I don't know how to do the PM, if you PM me first it might help!
I have to go out now for a couple of hours, but am around for the rest of the day.
Miriam

Happy to sort out the Saturday ticket with you.

Will PM later - have to go out myself but will be around from 6pm onwards to sort.

S

wolf · Tennis legend

Tursunov v Evans, Donskoy v Ward, Baluda/Kunitsyn v Marray/Fleming

daisy · County player

OK, our AMFF group now has just 1 ticket left for Sunday 7th April.
Please PM me if interested.

indiana · Tennis legend

In Jamie's particular case, I really don't see how folk are so much feeling that he appears to have been treated poorly, let alone "screwed over pretty badly".

Let us examine a few facts....

Many folk here thought he and James should be the singles selections even with a poor run of form from Jamie. Then, the week previous to the Davis Cup selection he apparently played very well in a 3rd set tiebreak defeat to Vasek Pospisil WR 129. Early last week, he is announced in the team, no great shock there.

A day or two after the DC announcement Jamie reverts to an evidently pretty poor 6-4 6-4 R1 defeat by Prakash Amritraj WR 436.

Now let's make a few educated not unreasonable guesses...

Leon probably has quite a lot of faith in Jamie, and having not unreasonably selected him feels no intention to suddenly dump him based on one further poor result.

But, he maybe not unreasonably has concerns and does want to see how he shapes up in practice back in the UK and also get a chance to talk to and really guage Jamie's mood.

Having looked at Jamie and Evo in practice and considered everything, he then goes with Evo as the best man for this tie, a guy RJA thought was "probably more.likely to spring an upset". Probably many folk would agree with that about Evo.

What is so terrible about all that very possible scenario ? Do folk know different ?

With regards to Jamie's schedule being mucked up, I would imagine he'd pretty much been factoring in that he would be quite likely to be back in thei UK for this tie, and had that in all his plans.

And as it is, that is what happenef, he was asked to come for the DC tie. All that seems to have then happened is that a ( maybe pretty tough ) selection decision has been made for Evo over Jamie.

We have previously discussed being DC hitting partners against playing tournaments. I don't though see that Jamie was ever some hitting partner, but seemed genuinely being consideted for selection ( gee, he was in the original 4 named just over a week ago ), and ultimately was not selected.

While that may be annoying, it just looks an unforttunate consequence of Jamie's form more than anything.

I just do not get this outrage !

Bob · Social player

To my mind Evo is not as consistent as Jamie. Evo is though more capable of beating top 100 players when on song. Mind you, he is also more likely to lose to much lower ranked players but that doesn't apply this weekend. Worth a shot in my book and I reckon Leon has called it right, though I agree the timing of his decision does seem a bit odd.

indiana · Tennis legend

I have no issues with dropping anyone the day before a tie if you think that's the best option for the WIN, which is what really matters. Jamie is a big boy, I am sure he will cope.

Yes, Leon could have picked Evo last week. But one presumes at that stage he thought Jamie was the best bet. But now presumably on what he had seen and further consideration ( and much that I said in between my previous beginning and end that wolf quoted ) his "gut feeling" is for Evo, and he will accept any flak, however unwarranted.

Is he to ignore that out of some sacred loyalty in that having been picked, travelled or for whatevet other reason Jamie in some way warrants being picked ? Not automatically for me.

I am not saying it is the right decision ( I yield to few here in my frustration with Evo ) but if Leon feels it is the best choice for the WIN, then it is the choice he should make.

It would have been great in many ways, of course, to have one original team of 4 and stick to it. and that no doubt would be the usual case and probably the scenario Leon expected. But I kind of admire him for apparently being prepared to go with what he now believes, accepting he would likely take some flak ( maybe a lot to judge by some here ).

The surely safe choice, the establishment choice, the uncontroversial choice, was to stick with Jamie, originally selected and much higher ranked, rather than go with Evo, seemingly "out of nowhere". He could go the way, like has been alleged of at least one previous captain, of doing whatever is likely to bring least blame on to himself. Picking James and Jamie and then losing would serve thst task.

Looks to me brave, positive and going with his beliefs as to the best chance of the WIN. It might also be wrong. But I reckon we have a pretty good csptain in Leon Smith.