Davis Cup 2015 - World Group Semi-Final - 18th-20th September

freerider · Futures level

Davis Cup 2015 - World Group Semi-Final - 18th-20th September

philwrig · Hall of fame

I suspect Evo always knew there was a good possibility that he would be needed in some capacity this week. That's why he withdrew from Istanbul. If there is any doubt about Kyle's ankle it's the right decision. Evo's looked good in practice and is full of confidence, beaten Tomic before, will rise to the occasion, so an easier decision than maybe we thought.

Jaffa · Challenger level

wolf wrote:
Jaffa wrote:
Why is this? He wasn't mentioned in the 5 until Kyle hurt himself.

Even if Dan had been there from the start, as you can only have 5 nominations one of them wouldn't have been nominated anyway.

Maybe I'm missing something?
Your not really missing anything. Teams have to nominate four players ten days before the tie. Leon nominated Andy, Jamie, Dom and Kyle but made it clear it was a five man squad which included James. You can change up to two of your four nominations on draw day.

That's exactly the point I was trying to make, you just worded it better

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

From the Beeb's rolling sports news page:

Edmund injury led to Evans recall

Davis Cup Tennis

Russell Fuller

BBC tennis correspondent

The indication from GB captain Leon Smith is that Kyle Edmund is very likely to have played if he had not turned his ankle on Tuesday, but this still represents a big gamble - when the stakes have never been higher.

There's no doubt Evans is in form (rising back to 300 in the world, having been 772 as recently as May) and has at times shown a flair for the big occasion: in the Davis Cup as well as at the US Open. But this year - playing predominantly in the third tier of men's tennis - Evans has beaten only one top 100 player, and just four others from the top 200.

Smith has never shied away from making a tough call, and has barely put a foot wrong as captain. His 'gut instinct' should be respected, but will it be correct?

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

It sounds a bit harsh, but the whole point of sport is to win, not to reward players for past heroics if they are not in form at present. Leon has had the players there for a few days and is surely in the best position to know who is most likely to get the desired result. He has made good decisions in the past so I'll back his judgement.

nicofrance · Strong Club Player

Well if there were doubts over Kyle Edmunds ankle then Leon Smith didn't have any other option but to play Evans. If he had risked Edmund and then he aggravated the injury and was unable to play on Sunday that would have been a big problem. IMO theres nothing controversial about dropping Ward given his form has been terrible since Wimbledon.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

nicofrance wrote:
Well if there were doubts over Kyle Edmunds ankle then Leon Smith didn't have any other option but to play Evans. If he had risked Edmund and then he aggravated the injury and was unable to play on Sunday that would have been a big problem. IMO theres nothing controversial about dropping Ward given his form has been terrible since Wimbledon.

Yes. Completey agree re caution vis-a-vis Kyle. But this then just reverts back to old question of: why was James there in the first place then? If Ward was a certainty (or quasi-certainty, given his form) to be dropped, then why was he there anyway? Better to have called on Brydan or Evo straight away.

nicofrance · Strong Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:
nicofrance wrote:
Well if there were doubts over Kyle Edmunds ankle then Leon Smith didn't have any other option but to play Evans. If he had risked Edmund and then he aggravated the injury and was unable to play on Sunday that would have been a big problem. IMO theres nothing controversial about dropping Ward given his form has been terrible since Wimbledon.

Yes. Completey agree re caution vis-a-vis Kyle. But this then just reverts back to old question of: why was James there in the first place then? If Ward was a certainty (or quasi-certainty, given his form) to be dropped, then why was he there anyway? Better to have called on Brydan or Evo straight away.

Good point, Leon Smith should have made it clear to Ward that he wasn't part of his plans because of his recent form.

Topemp · Strong Club Player

spud wrote:

People are reading way too much into this!
- Kyle and James were initially picked which is fair
- Kyle injures himself so Evans comes up as a back-up
- Evans is found to be hitting/playing the best out of the 3 of them when practicing... Leon picks who he thinks is the best to play in the second singles spot ... And thats it!
Why are people so concerned about the initial 5 players? It isn't set in stone whatsoever when they are picked

-- Edited by spud on Thursday 17th of September 2015 01:41:03 PM

^^^^^^This.^^^

Ratty · County player

Stircrazy wrote:
From the Beeb's rolling sports news page:
Edmund injury led to Evans recall
Davis Cup Tennis
Russell Fuller
BBC tennis correspondent
Smith has never shied away from making a tough call, and has barely put a foot wrong as captain. His 'gut instinct' should be respected, but will it be correct?

Well Lady Luck has certainly smiled on Leon, most recently when Isner had an astonishing lapse of form when playing James Ward.

And the last sentence is so typical of the arts graduates who dominate journalism. The question is entirely meaningless. So Evans might lose the crucial match, but there's no way of knowing whether Ward would have lost it too. And if Evans wins it, ditto Ward winning it too.

Spectator · All-time great

I think all of the decisions make quite a bit of sense. Calling up Mr Ward and Mr Edmund initially feels right: it was far more likely that Mr Edmund would make the team (as per the original four) but it made clear that Mr Ward wasn't being cut out of things entirely because of a recent run of bad form ... having been hugely responsible for GB's rise over the years.

Mr Edmund then became injured and Mr Evans was called in. Indiana, I definitely hear what you're saying about the risks of not having Mr Evans there from the beginning ... but (a) for all we know he was asked if he wanted to be a hitting partner, but refused ... (b) Mr Smith might not have wanted to ask a player who's trying to rise rapidly to forego a week or two of Challengers, potentially to no good purpose. Understandable, that.

Then a really difficult choice, with no immediately obvious answers. A player who has a good record in DC but is not in form? A player who is very low-ranked and hasn't played at the highest levels of late, but who has won a lot recently and also has a history of playing well on the big stage? With no self-evident choice, he'd have to have gone on the practice sessions.

Beyond that, there's the fact that Mr Evans has beaten Mr Tomic ... and also has played and won a live fifth rubber against quality opposition, while Mr Ward has never had to do that.

We shall see ...

indiana · Tennis legend

wolf wrote:
indiana wrote:
wolf wrote:
Jaffa wrote:
Why is this? He wasn't mentioned in the 5 until Kyle hurt himself.

Even if Dan had been there from the start, as you can only have 5 nominations one of them wouldn't have been nominated anyway.

Maybe I'm missing something?
Your not really missing anything. Teams have to nominate four players ten days before the tie. Leon nominated Andy, Jamie, Dom and Kyle but made it clear it was a five man squad which included James. You can change up to two of your four nominations on draw day.
Can you really have only 5 nominations ?!
My ongoing point has been that it could and in this case should have been six, and no one had said before that it couldn't be.
Whatever, surely Evo could always have been in Glasgow, more ready to step in than dashing up later. He wasn't, so less prepared than he could have been. Mistake.

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 17th of September 2015 01:57:25 PM
No, as I said you have to make four nominations ten days before the tie, but you can change two of these on draw day.

Oops, wolf, sorry for err not properly taking in your first post there, which I quote ! And thanks. Got it

So anyway, technicalities re the number initially nominated and how many can subsequently be changed on draw day and absolutely nothing in these at least that precluded Evo being in Glasgow from the off and effectively one of six.

However Evo wasn't there from the off and some not unforeseeable factors later he's in the team. At the very least, odd !

I'll let it rest since I think I may have made my point And tomorrow it's time for action ...

-- Edited by indiana on Thursday 17th of September 2015 10:46:55 PM

Rustie · Junior player

will he get any points?

Spectator · All-time great

If he wins matches, yes. 70 points for each match win at SF stage.

freerider · Futures level

Spectator wrote:
If he wins matches, yes. 70 points for each match win at SF stage.

(Live rubbers only)