Davis Cup 2016 World Group Semi Final - GB v Argentina - 16th to 18th September

Jan · Hall of fame

Davis Cup 2016 World Group Semi Final - GB v Argentina - 16th to 18th September

RJA · Hall of fame

Bob in Spain wrote:
More surprisingly for me DelPo is playing for Argentina. I thought they would rest him, being 2-0 up. Let's hope that if (or should I say when) it gets to a final rubber, DelPo is out on his feet and Evo can work his magic.

That is a crazy gamble from Argentina. If it works and they wrap the win up today fair play but if it is another brutal 5 setter it gives us a glimmer of hope for the final rubber.

-- Edited by RJA on Saturday 17th of September 2016 12:13:58 PM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I don't think it was ever in doubt (Andy playing, that is). Andy's there to win the tie. His commitment to Davis Cup is just off the scale. As is Juan Martin's.

And him not being able to walk is no different from del Potro, who's also playing, who must be in the same physical state as Andy (though mentally a little happier....)

Indeed, I know where the people are coming from when they say Andy should be selfish and avoid Davis Cup from now on and focus on Slams.

But I think Andy IS being selfish - i.e. he's doing 100% what 'self' wants - namely, play Davis Cup.

As long as Leon (or someone he likes/respects is running it), I don;t think Andy will drop Davis Cup. And I think he's right. They play individual tennis, week in, week out. Team tennis is a joy. And something hardly any of our players get to do.

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Saturday 17th of September 2016 12:18:56 PM

DF · Tennis legend

The way Britain plays it Davis Cup is hardly ''team tennis''

RJA · Hall of fame

Coup Droit wrote:
I don't think it was ever in doubt (Andy playing, that is). Andy's there to win the tie. His commitment to Davis Cup is just off the scale. As is Juan Martin's.

And him not being able to walk is no different from del Potro, who's also playing, who must be in the same physical state as Andy (though mentally a little happier....)

Indeed, I know where the people are coming from when they say Andy should be selfish and avoid Davis Cup from now on and focus on Slams.

But I think Andy IS being selfish - i.e. he's doing 100% what 'self' wants - namely, play Davis Cup.

As long as Leon (or someone he likes/respects is running it), I don;t think Andy will drop Davis Cup. And I think he's right. They play individual tennis, week in, week out. Team tennis is a joy. And something hardly any of our players get to do.

I think it all depends on when the ties are held. He missed the Serbia clash because he needed rest after Roland Garros / Wimbledon and the Olympics meant more to him than the Davis Cup. With this tie he isn't sacrificing anything of great importance. If he bombs in Beijing and Shanghai it is no big deal, a second Davis Cup is far more important to him than another Masters title.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Yes, true. Although he still went and cheered ! (And maybe had taken a calculated assessment that he wasn't needed, as all part of the bigger plan).

(Monfils has been slagged off by the French press who are, in fact, quite bemused at Andy going to Serbia).

And, yes, place is important - playing with his brother, in Glasgow, at an important family moment - I don't think Andy would miss it for the world.

But I agree - he's not going to do something stupid for Davis Cup.

But I thought, having won it last year, and with a new baby this year, he's take a bit of a back seat. So wrong....

indiana · Tennis legend

Pretty amazing Andy playing, but maybe not a huge surprise. He can be really bloody minded about things being possible. Let's hope for the best. Yes, I too am more surprised that Del Potro is playing. Their best chance of their 3rd point is surely the scheduled final rubber so I would have thought save Del Potro.

Re Kyle's match it does seem that the occasion and match situation got to him a bit. That possibility, still after the US Open, was one reason I plumped for Evo in our vote with Evo more unlikely to be affected. That and Dan's performance against Wawrinka had suggested his current absolute top level was at the very least not too far behind Kyle. Anyway, I think most of us thought it looked a close call between two in form players, and we don't have the benefit of seeing how they shaped up over the last few days, so it is difficult to really question Leon's choice. He has a rather good record in looking to have got it right.

Re the early in the year head to head between Kyle and Dan, while I've said I'm certainly one that didn't in general think it of great import there is one possible particular concern. Dan's defeat there was to a guy notable for standing there playing huge forehand, not so unlike Del Potro, and Dan didn't find a way on that day to mix it up enough and change the pattern. So if he does come in for rubber 5, and it matters, hopefully he took something from that match and maybe others and just generally plays better this time on the day, that it was more that bad day at the office than a match up thing.

Pity Dom wasn't available for the doubles. I am guessing if he was Andy wouldn't have played today. I always did have doubts about his omission, but then it's true we would have lost the option to switch our singles players. A choice has to be made.

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 17th of September 2016 12:40:03 PM

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

RJA wrote:
Coup Droit wrote:
I don't think it was ever in doubt (Andy playing, that is). Andy's there to win the tie. His commitment to Davis Cup is just off the scale. As is Juan Martin's.

And him not being able to walk is no different from del Potro, who's also playing, who must be in the same physical state as Andy (though mentally a little happier....)

Indeed, I know where the people are coming from when they say Andy should be selfish and avoid Davis Cup from now on and focus on Slams.

But I think Andy IS being selfish - i.e. he's doing 100% what 'self' wants - namely, play Davis Cup.

As long as Leon (or someone he likes/respects is running it), I don;t think Andy will drop Davis Cup. And I think he's right. They play individual tennis, week in, week out. Team tennis is a joy. And something hardly any of our players get to do.
I think it all depends on when the ties are held. He missed the Serbia clash because he needed rest after Roland Garros / Wimbledon and the Olympics meant more to him than the Davis Cup. With this tie he isn't sacrificing anything of great importance. If he bombs in Beijing and Shanghai it is no big deal, a second Davis Cup is far more important to him than another Masters title.

It also depends on his WR1 ambitions. Masters titles are vital if he is to achieve that. For the first time in a few years, I sense a vulnerability (albeit a small one) in Djokovic and the 1st 6 months of next season might see Andy's best chance in a while of achieving that ambition, if he can maintain the form he has shown since the start of the clay court season.

I am a big fan of DC but I would also love to see Andy make WR1, and if DC has to be sacrificed to achieve that, then there would be no complaints from me. With Evo and Kedders improving all the time, we would still have a more than decent team.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

again, just my opinion, but I don't think there's any way that Andy would have sat out today's match, in Glasgow, with Jamie, in what is now 'the' crucial match (until the possible final rubber which will be outside of Andy's control)

I think he wants to 'make amends' for yesterday and give the team a chance and wouldn't have let Dom take the role.

indiana · Tennis legend

Re Andy's future in the Davis Cup, I was certainly hoping that Andy would put it on the back burner after this year and as I saw it become more selfish in, having contributed so much, now put all his energies into chasing further individual triumph.

I do read what CD says about interpreting "selfish" in that he does want to play Davis Cup, particularly with the current set-up.

But if GB were to win the Davis Cup again ( all is not lost just yet ) to me, at Andy's age and surely individual ambition it would be almost a no brainer. How many Davis Cups does it matter so much ? - time surely to move on except in possible emergency.

I wonder if GB do lose whether he will feel more like staying around, kind of in rectification. Personally, I hope not, Andy has nothing really to rectify. Thanks for such great service, now go win more Slams.

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 17th of September 2016 01:01:00 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
again, just my opinion, but I don't think there's any way that Andy would have sat out today's match, in Glasgow, with Jamie, in what is now 'the' crucial match (until the possible final rubber which will be outside of Andy's control)

I think he wants to 'make amends' for yesterday and give the team a chance and wouldn't have let Dom take the role.

Dom's not in the four man team. If he was I would certainly have thought Andy would bypass the doubles after yesterday.

We though put our eggs in the basket of just one doubles specialist. With the team we have, Andy playing ( which was clearly the original intention ) over Dan ( the more likely ) or Kyle is very understandable, if going to be a test.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree, Indy. In fact, I was hoping he'd put it on the back burner THIS year, never mind next.

I don't like Davis Cup being every year (in terms of lessening the event) and think the tennis schedules are daft enough without that anyway.

But the fact that he didn't really says something.

Anyway, to the matter in hand - allez, les bros !

PS I do know that Dom's not in the team smile I thought you'd said that IF Dom had been in the team then Andy would have sat out. And I don't reckon so (IF he'd been in the team.... smile )

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Saturday 17th of September 2016 01:03:51 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
I agree, Indy. In fact, I was hoping he'd put it on the back burner THIS year, never mind next.

I don't like Davis Cup being every year (in terms of lessening the event) and think the tennis schedules are daft enough without that anyway.

But the fact that he didn't really says something.

Anyway, to the matter in hand - allez, les bros !

PS I do know that Dom's not in the team I thought you'd said that IF Dom had been in the team then Andy would have sat out. And I don't reckon so (IF he'd been in the team.... )

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Saturday 17th of September 2016 01:03:51 PM

Ah sorry, got you

I was partly thinking surely CD knows how the team thing works, maybe he's having a senile moment, maybe he's put "Dom" instead of "Dan" by mistake.

IF Dom had been in the team, then surely one contingency he would be in for is to save a fairly knackered Andy playing all 3 days with an alternative good doubles pair. But you might be right, keeping Andy off court may have been difficult even IF.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Well, missed a lot of the action live as in transit so to speak, but saw some of Andy Delpotro as live in a municipal tennis clubhouse. It held the room, people entered, stood watching for a couple minutes then sat down and stayed. All neutrals. A great game that sucked in and grabbed ate attention of the neutral tennis fan exactly what tennis as a sport needs.

Big fan of the format as I think are the players, although not all the top players play all the time, most show significant committment given the massive financial incentives to be more selfish and commit to the tour, and only the tour.

Dan lost in NYC to a guy with " Ever tried, ever failed. No matter, try again, fail better." Tattooed on his arm.

There are some really good lessons to be learnt here, Kyle for one can take away an enormous amount from his match indeed from the whole DC experience over the last two years.

Davis Cup and Andys commitment to it has facilitated enormous growth in British tennis, it has been a vehicle that has provide a regular supportive and nurturing environment that has sustained the development of both Jamie, Dan and Kyle. An opportunity to commit totally to the performance of the group and draw from each other's experience. We got talking in the club during his game and although some disliked Andy as a personality, everyone had enormous respect for his tennis intelligence.

Mark Petchy has commented in the past that Andy plays like he is skint, battling to win to put bread on the table. Paradoxically this suggests to me that he isn't particularly fiscally driven, not that he need be. His track record explicitly demonstrates there is a massive emotional value for him in contributing to the success of the British team in both DC and at the Olympics that at time transcends self. A massive part of that value comes from the impact it has had on the games of the rest of the team.

Leon has made good choices through out his career as DC captain and I think given the evidence made good choices here. As Mr Ladbrooke will tell you there is no such thing as a certainty, however regardless of the eventual outcome which still could transcend all previous achievements, I still see DC as a very positive force that binds together the elite players in British tennis. Andy still has an immense amount to give and gain from participating in it.

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Saturday 17th of September 2016 01:48:00 PM

DF · Tennis legend

Two sets to one smile
6-1 3-6 6-4