Looks like journos are expecting dan and kyle to get today's nod. Having slept on it, why not. If Pella can beat PCB, kyle can!

JonH comes home wrote:

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Presumably you've got this Bob?

 

Email daviscupfinals@lta.org.uk by 11:00 GMT and you can get up to 4 free tickets per person to cheer on our GB Team in our semi-final Saturday at 16:30 GMT

-- Edited by JonH comes home on Saturday 23rd of November 2019 07:53:27 AM

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 I suppose there are plenty of nations experts on the southern coasts of Spain that might make the journey with the prospect of a free ticket but really who is going to get a plane with <24hrs notice to Madrid? The tournament should be run over two weekends and a single working week between, 9days with reasonable ticket prices from the outset given cost to fly and hotels all bumping up prices. And moreover to generate the ground swell of interest you'd have thought they would have sold a highlights package to run similar to MOTD on free to air providers. The attendance issues were not unforeseeable and actually the greatest risk, mentioned over and over in these threads months out. I think I mentioned that free to air coverage will draw the revenue from advertisers rather than a pay wall where advertisers won't be attracted by limited viewers. This was F1's problem in recent times.

Looks like it was a bad day for German tennis all round yesterday - the zverev v Federer exhibition in Bogota was called off after police imposed a night time curfew due to protestors in the city.

Tour moves onto Mexico, a crowd of 42,000 expected in Mexico city

I'm about 20 mins behind (fastforwarding the sit downs) so things may well have changed, but Russia (Rublev) have taken the first set gainst Canada (Pospisil) in the oppening rubber of the first semi final. Rublev started like a train and won the first 8 points (and the crucial break) and then it was holds thereafter, although some were less comfortable than others. Hasn't been the highest quality tennis thus far, which is a bit of a rarity.

On a different note, it's great that there'll be at least 900 Brits there for the later match - that should be some atmosphere, and occasion for those in attendance. I think I'd go with Evo and Kyle, as I'd have most confidence that Kyle could beat PCB given the way he has played so far, and then hopefully Evo would have a somewhat free hit against Rafa. If it did come down to the decding doubles it would be interesting if Andy was drafted in to partner Jamie, and that would give the tournament another talking point - Rafa vs Andy, but I'd still personally stick with Neal because he has been very good so far.

Rublev has just got a break in the second set from where I'm up to, and he may already have won, so it could come down to Shapo saving Canada and forcing the doubles.

Ace Ventura wrote:

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On a different note, it's great that there'll be at least 900 Brits there for the later match - that should be some atmosphere, and occasion for those in attendance. I think I'd go with Evo and Kyle, as I'd have most confidence that Kyle could beat PCB given the way he has played so far, and then hopefully Evo would have a somewhat free hit against Rafa. If it did come down to the decding doubles it would be interesting if Andy was drafted in to partner Jamie, and that would give the tournament another talking point - Rafa vs Andy, but I'd still personally stick with Neal because he has been very good so far.

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From Stu Fraser's report on yesterday's QF in today's Times:

Smith said last night that Murray's condition is not good enough to put him ahead of Evans or Kyle Edmund to contest the singles. It seems likely that, for the third day in a row, he will sit out the action this evening at the Caja Mágica as Britain face Spain this evening.

"I thought that where Kyle and, obviously, Evo are at is ahead of where Andy is," Smith said, of his decision not to select Murray for yesterday's quarter-final 2-0 win over Germany. "That's where it is in terms of how he's feeling. And when you've got two very good players like Kyle and Evo, who are ready to go, then that's what we do.  I really liked seeing how Andy supports the guys. He wants everyone to be up in the rankings, doing well and supporting each other. He really leads by example on that front. We know it's not just about Andy. He's still a massive part of what we do, but it gives everyone confidence when people can step up and develop. It's not just now, it has been for a long time. We've had some very good results from the guys."

Yes, the line ups seem pretty much confirmed in that case.

Just about caught up now. Rublev beat Pospisil 6-4 6-4 to take the first rubber. Vasek did recover a break in the second set, but was then broken straightaway, so now it's down to Shapovalov to (hopefully) force a deciding doubles rubber against Khachanov - that's a good match between 2 young top 20 players. I always like to see it come down to the doubles if I'm neutral

I also think this event should get ranking points- not a free hit but an event that counts if it improves on their worst counter. It's the quality of an atp 500, so maybe points aligned to that, with number 2 players getting atp250 points...