FED CUP 2017 - Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 - Tallinn, Estonia (week commencing 6 Feb)

Wakey · Junior player

RE: FED CUP 2017 - Euro/Africa Zone Group 1 - Tallinn, Estonia (week commencing 6 Feb)

tony_orient · ATP qualifying

Looking at the line-ups in the other final, Poland v Serbia, both those teams are so much weaker than both GB and Croatia (their No.1s are ranked below the GB and Croatia No.2s). It makes the efforts of our team to qualify all the more impressive, and equally Croatia can consider themselves quite unlucky to have missed out due in significant part to a lopsided draw.

indiana · Tennis legend

Actually probably one outstanding figure can drag you through 5 rubber matches, playing in 3 of the 5 matches, with their two singles and one doubles matches just about as much as playing in 2 out of 3, one singles and one doubles.

Some would say the Davis Cup best of 5 has given a very good recent example of this with a team who won the whole thing You don't really need any more depth if that one player can flog through and win 3 matches, one with a decent doubles partner.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

So the WG and WG playoffs are like DC in content, but only over 2 days?

Whereas the regional groups are like WTF, but with different qualifying rules given a tie at the top?

Spectator · All-time great

I wouldn't say I'm an expert on GB Fed Cup tennis, but it doesn't feel like a particularly dodgy decision for Anne Keothavong to have picked the team of Heather Watson and Jo Konta - and I would have said the same even had they (perish the thought) not won through. They're the two strongest players overall, and they both have done some good things in doubles. She must have spoken with Ms Konta to see how she felt about it after the singles. And they had the advantage that having played Ms Robson and Ms Rae earlier, neither singles player had done too much over the previous days.

Anyway, a great result from the whole team, all of whom contributed!

Oh, and I'd agree with everyone who says that the current Round Robin system for the Group I tie is horrid. It's so good to see the team escape into the next level and proper ties. And it would be super to see the system reformed.

-- Edited by Spectator on Saturday 11th of February 2017 05:20:36 PM

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

The format is a compromise based on practical reality. Ideally, all players would commit for 4 or 5 weekends a year, that would allow you to have a true merit knockout tournament 1-to-1 through out.
But players won't commit to that.
The format at Group I level and below allows you to get the bigger names from countries with less strength in depth becasue they only have to commit one week a year.
You get to process a whole load of countries in groups that determine promotion, inertia and relegation through out 75% of your entrant countries, and it all gets done in one weekend a year.
In order to squeeze that in, you have to play matches on consecutive days, and so you have to drop the reverse singles or the players would be exhausted (and wouldn't turn up to that schedule). Alternatively, you could play over a full week, and space things out a bit, but that would mean two weekends for the players, and that would be effectively missing any potential tournament two weeks running, or asking the WTA to suspend tournaments for two weeks rather than just the current one (which they already massively resent); neither of those things is going to happen.

It's not ideal, but it just accommodates reality.

Edit: change to 1-to-1 what was originally a typo of 1-to-11!

-- Edited by AliBlahBlah on Saturday 11th of February 2017 05:26:25 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Helen40 wrote:
So the WG and WG playoffs are like DC in content, but only over 2 days?

Whereas the regional groups are like WTF, but with different qualifying rules given a tie at the top?

Yes re the WG ties being pretty much like Davis Cup, just mainly the doubles is the final match played on the second of two days rather than the middle match by itself on the second of three days.

And some would probably say that 'WTF' sums up the group stages quite well Personally I have less problem with them than apparently quite a few others.

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 11th of February 2017 05:39:30 PM

skibbarriz · Strong Club Player

I think the whole idea of a further play-off after this ordeal is rubbish. If you finish the top of your section you should get promoted, if you finish bottom you get relegated. Like how a football league works. Sally star player can put in her one anual appearance for her flagging WG team and your torturous promotion bid is dust.

I know the whole thing is ripe for reform but this is my first close look at the Fed Cup format and it's not hard to see how the current system would inspire dissafection with the entire tournament. And it's not just the teams lower down that are affected. Having a poor format adds a 'whatever' aspect to whoever wins it.

-- Edited by skibbarriz on Saturday 11th of February 2017 05:49:56 PM

AliBlahBlah · All-time great

skibbarriz wrote:
I think the whole idea of a further play-off after this ordeal is rubbish. If you finish the top of your section you should get promoted, if you finish bottom you get relegated. Like how a football league works. Sally star player can put in her one anual appearance for her flagging WG team and your torturous promotion bid is dust. [...]

I think that would be a good reform, largely for the reasons you state. Direct promotion/relegation between WGII and Regional Group I.
It is like a football league mechanism, just the Championship playoffs, and the playoff teams are formed from two different leagues rather than from within the same league.

I can understand, commercially, why it is the way it is now, but definitely having achieved something, rather than the chance to actually achieve something is preferable to me.
The WGII playiffs being best of 5 does help to mitigate the one great player nations; at least as much as anyone is proposing. to Win the tie they'd have to win both singles and play a hand in the doubles on consecutive days, as in Davis cup, and that schedule, in the pressure cooker of national competition, drains the best (e.g. Sir Andy), and you have to be exceptional to carry that load (e.g. Sir Andy ).

wolf · Tennis legend

Wow seeing an extra five pages after I left with Heather having won made me nervous, and it didn't get any better as I read. Well done team, and good decision from Anne for the doubles.

Peter too · Tennis legend

wolf wrote:
Wow seeing an extra five pages after I left with Heather having won made me nervous, and it didn't get any better as I read. Well done team, and good decision from Anne for the doubles.

The choice of doubles players was a risk but worked out well in the end. With Joss and Laura covering all the group doubles matches it left Heather and Jo with enough energy to take on the final doubles match and might well have made the difference at the end of the 3rd set.

wolf · Tennis legend

Just gone 1am local time, Georgia and Israel still fighting it out in the relegation play off! -5° when they get outside.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Wow, talk about taking it to the wire; well done the team :D
Brilliant week for Heather; glad my pick for the dubs came up trumps in the end :)

paulisi · Tennis legend

As the ITF run both the DC and Fed Cup tournaments I don't understand why there aren't in the same format.

I know Judy. Murray was publicly calling for the Fed Cup to be for after like DC and I do tend to agree.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Wow what drama from yesterday, and I mean a lot, more coming later.