Davis Cup Conundrum

Karlovic of Croatia celebrates win over Blake in the first rubber of the Croatia-USA tie

Two days into this year's Davis Cup Quarterfinals and there are a number of surprises. For one, who would've thought the unheralded Israeli team could knock off the mighty, or not so mighty rather, Russians in a relatively straightforward 3-0 sweep after the first two days. For the other three matches all of the host countries lead the series 2-1 heading into the final day of singles matches.

CZECH REPUBLIC leads ARGENTINA 2-1
Venue: CEZ Arena, Ostrava (hard - indoors)
Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 64 26 26 63 62
Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) d. Ivo Minar (CZE) 61 63 63
Tomas Berdych/Radek Stepanek (CZE) d. Jose Acasuso/Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 61 64 63 Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Ivo Minar (CZE) v Juan Monaco (ARG)

Going into the final day of play the clear question is whether or not Radek Stepanek will be playing. After playing in the doubles match and easily dispatching the sacrificial lamb team of Acasuso/Mayer, one wonders whether or not Stepanek will replace the lowly Ivo Minar. Most likely, if Stepanek does not play, the Czechs are doomed as Juan Martin del Potro and Juan Monaco could very easily dispatch their opponents. However, if Stepanek does play Monaco the match will end up becoming the decider. Either way I still think Argentina pulls out the victory here. Hopefully for them, their sacrificed doubles rubber won't come back to bite them in the backside.


CROATIA leads USA 2-1
Venue: Sportska Dvorana Zatika , Porec (clay - indoors)
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) d. James Blake (USA) 67(5) 46 63 76(3) 75
Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Mardy Fish (USA) 46 63 67(3) 61 86
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Roko Karanusic/Lovro Zovko (CRO) 63 61 63
Marin Cilic (CRO) v James Blake (USA)
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v Mardy Fish (USA)

On the opening day, both Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic posted impressive 5 set victories over their American opponents. Notably, James Blake led Karlovic by two sets to love before losing the next three sets to the big serving Croat. After these nailbiting singles, and Bob and Mike Bryan blitzed their Croatian opponents in 68 minutes. After looking at the scoreboard for the match I thought it was an error. A 68 minute three set match? That's 25 games played at an average speed of less than 3 minutes per game. Going into the final day of singles I have no idea what to expect. Blake is not the most reliable player in live Davis Cup rubbers, (but you can count on him to win those dead rubbers!) and Cilic is the far superior clay court player. If Blake can pull the upset, however, Fish and Karlovic is a toss-up. Simply put, America has not come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a tie in over 50 years, and I can't see this line-up pulling off the comeback.


SPAIN leads GERMANY 2-1
Venue: Plaza de Toros de Puerto Banus, Marbella (clay - outdoors)
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Andreas Beck (GER) 60 36 67(4) 62 61
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Tommy Robredo (ESP) 63 64 64
Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Nicolas Kiefer/Mischa Zverev (GER) 63 76(1) 67(6) 63
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Andreas Beck (GER)

The Spanish duo of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco may have been the deciding victory for the host country, as Germany will be forced to sweep the remaining singles matches to win the tie. Sure, Phillipp Kohlschreiber could upset Verdasco in singles, as he played a solid match to dispatch Tommy Robredo on the opening day. But can Andreas Beck really knock out Robredo? He played well enough to win two sets off an inconsistent Verdasco in the opening rubber, but the sets he did lose were by the scores of 6-0, 6-2, and 6-1. Even without some top players like Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, Spain should advance past Germany after winning at least one of the remaining two singles matches.


ISRAEL defeated RUSSIA 3-0
Venue: Nokia Stadium, Tel Aviv (hard – indoors)

Harel Levy (ISR) d. Igor Andreev (RUS) 64 62 46 62
Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 36 61 60 75
Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) d. Igor Kunitsyn/Marat Safin (RUS) 63 64 67(3) 46 64
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Harel Levy (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

Wow. Who would have predicted Israel easily beating Russia after two days? Not I, certainly. Sure, I am not that shocked by Dudi Sela's defeat over an injury plagued Mikhail Youzhny, but Igor Andreev losing a relatively straightforward match to Harel Levy? That's a shocking upset that should not have happened. The main problem with the Russian squad this year is the absence of Nikolay Davydenko who should have been there with his team to possibly lead them to victory. The one played on team Russia that I am impressed with is Marat Safin, who despite pitiful singles performances throughout the year fought back with his partner Igor Kunitsyn before barely losing to a top doubles team on tour, Erlich and Ram.


Hopefully the excitement and surprises continue this weekend as the remaining 6 countries battle it out for three spots to join Israel in the Davis Cup semifinals!

We Need Answers Pt. 2

And here is the second installment to the preview of the upcoming US Open series and what we as fans should look out for on the main tour! After the first part of this series covered the future of Safina, del Potro, Simon, the Williams Sisters, and Azarenka, I will continue to focus on certain individuals of the sport.

5. Can Kuznetsova Regain Her Form?

Svetlana Kuznetsova is one of the WTA tour's finest players. Kuznetsova, confident and strong, stormed through Paris to win her second grand slam title. But afterwards she had a series of lackluster performances on grass, accumulating in a losing effort to hard-hitting Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon.

Sveta is known for her lapses in play, so as she approaches the summer hard courts defending little points we wonder how high she can climb. Primarily, she is in a three way race with Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva for the third and fourth seeds at the US Open. It is very likely that Sveta might just bomb out of a few of the summer hard court tournaments only to post a great run at the US Open, but just as likely is she could reach a few finals during the summer and bomb out in the second round at the final grand slam of the year.

Overall, as Sveta proceeds through this summer I know I'm going to be paying close attention to her ranking change because if she sneaks in above Venus in the rankings she might cause a Serena-Venus QF clash at the US Open.

6. When Will It Happen?

Despite only being in his early twenties, Marin Cilic (seen right), has seemingly been called a player to watch for the entire season. But time after time he has come up short despite his 6 foot 6 frame and outstanding movement for a man so tall. When examining his game I was constantly searching for major strengths and major weaknesses yet I found nothing. That's a good and a bad sign with his game for he can still improve. Primarily he needs to get stronger and get some more miles per hour on that already spin filled serve. Additionally he could work on moving forward more since his forecourt game is currently filled with natural raw talent that can still be refined.

His major curse has been his nerves. At Wimbledon he squandered match points against Tommy Haas and thus costing him a chance to advance deep in a grand slam draw for the first time. I am constantly waiting for him to break through at a top men's event yet countless times he refuses to get that big win.

Will it finally come this summer? These summer tournaments might be his best chance all year as Roger Federer might not be competing due to the pregnancy of his wife, Mirka.

7. Where Will Roddick Go?

Clearly, Andy Roddick is at a deciding moment in his career. Coming off his Wimbledon final loss he will either shine or fade away. As he continues to age he will certainly win less and less so these upcoming years are vital. Particularly, this US Open will be a huge opportunity with Nadal hurting, Djokovic slumping, Murray faltering, and Federer awaiting the birth of his first child. His loss to Federer in the Wimbledon final could be so major that Roddick never recovers, however, and he won't be able to get over it. I pray that he realizes how it reflects his own improvement and he continues to grow in confidence because Roddick can cause serious damage to his competition this summer as his game flourishes on the hard courts.

Roddick may have withdrawn from Davis Cup because of an injury, but if his results are not top notch we will all know it's not his body that's hurting. It's essential that he overcomes the loss and uses it to help his confidence because his level during the Wimbledon final was extraordinary and if he keeps it up he should be back in a grand slam final in a few weeks at the US Open.

8. Can His Knees Last?

Once again, Rafael Nadal's knees are causing some concern. Forcing him out of Wimbledon and a chance to maintain his number one ranking, those knees are causing havoc. Hopefully the rehab of the past few weeks has been enough and he can play on the hard courts. The blue-green summer hard courts, however, are notorious for being much more damaging to knees and joints compared to the soft clay and grass courts of the previous weeks.

To be frank, the tour needs him for his personality, the media needs him to broadcast tennis, and I need him to make the ATP even more competitive. I'm sure he will be back playing again, but will his knees continue to bother him and affect his play for the rest of his career? Can he regain his number one ranking? Will these knees consistently wear out mid season, forever stopping him from winning the US Open and thus the career slam unless he makes serious changes? There are just so many questions surrounding Nadal and his knees that his first few matches when he comes back will greatly reflect things to come.


Well there you have it! Those eight things you should watch for with the upcoming summer hard court swing and the US Open on the men's and women's tours!