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10 Reasons to be Excited for Davis Cup Weekend

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The time has come!  While Andrea has done a great job breaking down the World Group match-ups, I thought I’d spell out for you the specific reasons why you should set your alarm for 5AM, skip work, cancel all of your social plans, and dedicate your entire Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to the wonder that is Davis Cup.
 

10. The Newcomers

It’s been 8 years since Canada has been in the World Group.  For Japan it’s been 27.  In both cases the newcomers, led by youngsters Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori respectively, will be looking to prove that they belong with the big guns.  Both teams have uphill battles- Japan hosts Croatia and Canada hosts France, but there’s nothing quite as exciting as fresh blood.

Team Canada puts on their most intimidating Davis Cup faces as they await Team France.

 

9.  Fedmania!

In a giant reversal of storylines, Federer is the only one of the “Big 4” playing in Davis Cup this weekend.  To top it off, he’s playing in Switzerland, against a depleted but still fun-to-beat American squad, and with good buddy Stanislas Wawrinka by his side. Love him or not, it will be fun to see the Legend soak in the well-deserved adoration and play in a team atmosphere on his home turf.

Federer and Wawrinka are sure to be full of smiles this weekend in Switzerland.

8. Russian Roulette

The Russian Davis Cup Team has undergone a bit of a makeover.  Alex Bogomolov, Jr. is not only making his Russian debut, but he’s the team’s #1 player.  Dmitry Tursnov and Igor Andreev, team mainstays, are absent while the struggling Nikolay Davydenko and the wildcard Igor Kunitsyn take their place.  Mikhail Youzhny is coming off singles and doubles victories in Zagreb, but has been complaining to the press about an injured shoulder.  All in all, there’s absolutely no telling what to expect from Team Russia as they travel to Jurgen Melzer’s Austria this weekend, and as always- that’s part of the fun.

With the mismatched Russian team, it's best to be expecting the unexpected.

 

7. Veterans Day

Some players have proven time and time again that they adapt to the Davis Cup atmosphere better than others.  Whether it’s Melzer leading his Austrian team, Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek becoming mental giants for the Czech Republic, or David Nalbandian discovering the game (and legs) of his youth, there’s nothing quite as exhilarating as seeing the veteran guys play their hearts out for their country.

It's always a pleasure to watch Nalbandian wear his heart on his sleeve during Davis Cup play.

 

6. The Battle of the Misfits

One of the ties I’m most looking forward to is Spain/Kazakhstan.  The Spanish Davis Cup stalwarts (Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, and Fernando Verdasco) who have dominated the team competition for the past few years are sitting out this year, paving the way for their less heralded countrymen (Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers, Legend and Former #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Marc Lopez). Meanwhile Kazakhstan’s team is full of former Russians (Mikhail Kukushkin, Andrey Golubev, Yuri Schukin, and Evgeny Korolev) who migrated over to the neighboring country for a chance to shine.  It will be fun to see all of these former “back-ups” take the stage and fight for Davis Cup glory.

Golubev and Kukushkin will try and represent their adopted Kazakhstan well by dethroning the Spaniards this weekend.

 

5. Tommy Haas

Do I really need to explain this one? The often injured but forever adored German (when he’s not American) is back in Davis Cup action for the first time in five years! How lucky are we?  Let’s just sit back and enjoy.

We've missed you Tommy, unexplainable facial hair and all.

 

4. The Other Groups

Believe it or not, the World Group Playoffs aren’t the only Davis Cup action happening this weekend. There are some pretty crucial ties happening in “Group I” and “Group II” (don’t you dare ask me to explain what that means).  Teams in action that you might be interested in are: Ukraine (Sergiy Stakhovsky! Sergei Bubka- yes, Vika’s boyfriend!) vs. Monaco, Uzbekistan (Denis Istomin- am I the only one interested in him?) vs. New Zealand, Australia (Hewitt! Tomic! You know them!) vs. China, P.R., Great Britain (Murray-less) vs. Slovak Republic (starring recent ATP Zagreb finalist Lukas Lacko).  You’d be amiss if you didn’t scavenge for some (surely static) streams for the lesser-known teams this weekend too.

Find a choppy stream to find out if Sergi Bubka, Jr.- son of pole-vault legend and boyfriend of Vika- can lead Team Ukraine to victory.

 

3. The New Heroes

Every year Davis Cup weekend, especially the first round, breeds unheralded heroes.  Something about the five-set format, the team unity, and the pressure/invigoration of playing for one’s country brings out the best in some unsuspecting players.  Who will it be this weekend? Could Milos lead the Canadians past the accomplished French team? Could the upstart Japanese make Davis Cup history against Croatia? Could the Swedish team find a miracle and cause the Serbian team to sweat? As cliche as it sounds, expect a new Davis Cup legend to be born.

Maybe Andreas Seppi will grasp the spotlight and lead the ever-dramatic Italians past the Czechs.

2. Double Trouble

Davis Cup is the time for Doubles to shine, and this weekend is no different.  This weekend we have spectacular Doubles storylines: the reunions of fan favorites Fedrinka (Federer and Wawrinka) and Bendra (Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra), the eternal mystery of who the other Bryan Brother will be (Bob Bryan is home playing father duty, so either Mardy Fish, John Isner, or Ryan Harrison will take his place alongside Mike Bryan in Switzerland), and the always delightful Davis Cup return of BerdWorm (Berdych and Stepanek). Whether you’re a fan of doubles, awkwardness, hysteria, or just misplaced volleys, Saturday will be a special day for you.

Can Bendra (aka Benneteau and Llodra) keep the magic alive in Doubles this Saturday?

1. The Cheerleaders

Let’s be honest- Davis Cup really isn’t about the tennis.  It’s about seeing the bromance on the benches as the fellow team members watch and frazzle along with us.  Nothing is as great as seeing a good cheerleader- whether it be Roger Federer on his feet urging on Stanislas Wawrinka, Juan Carlos Ferrero fist-pumping a Nicolas Almagro winner, or John Isner and Ryan Harrison embracing when Mardy Fish gets to set point, there is no better reason to watch Davis Cup than to inspect the camaraderie on the benches.

It's a blast to see all-star players, Champions, and macho-men be relegated to cheerleaders.

Hopes are High for Canadians Down Under

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Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic leads the Canadian charge in Oz

Four Canadians will be part of the main draw of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Not only are they competing in the first Grand Slam of the new tennis season, but they also have aspirations of winning a few rounds and ultimately getting a shot at a spot in the second week Down Under.
After reaching the Round of 16 at the Australian Open last year, his best Grand Slam result, world no. 25 Milos Raonic is being labelled a dark horse by the experts for the title in 2012. Fresh off his second ATP World Tour title in Chennai two weeks ago, a run which included two Top 10 wins over Nicolas Almagro and Janko Tipsarevic, Raonic is poised to make another splash in Melbourne. His draw did him no favours however, as he finds himself on a potential collision course with Andy Roddick in the third round and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. Raonic will begin his Australian Open campaign on Tuesday against crafty lefty Filippo Volandri. It will be the first meeting between the two players.
On the ladies side, one year removed from a heartbreaking loss in the second round to Francesca Schiavone that finished 9-7 in the third set, Rebecca Marino returns to Melbourne a different player and ready to overcome that second round hurdle this time around. The 21-year-old will start on Tuesday against Hungarian Greta Arn. Should Marino get through that match, she would face a tough test going up against either seventeenth seed Dominika Cibulkova or Magdalena Rybarikova, who defeated her in the final at Memphis last March.
Stéphanie Dubois is back after a stress fracture in her foot put a premature end to her 2011 season. She is appearing in her fourth consecutive Australian Open main draw and is hoping to pick up her first victory when she meets Russia’s Elena Vesnina in the opening round on Tuesday. Aleksandra Wozniak rounds out the Canadian singles contingent Down Under. 2012 is a big year for Wozniak as she tries to regain her 2009 form when she reached a career-high of no. 21 on the WTA rankings. She earned a spot in the main draw following the withdrawal of Timea Bacsinszky and surprisingly, is still winless in main draw matches in Melbourne. Just getting over a bout with bronchitis, Wozniak will open on Tuesday against Shuai Zhang of China.
Australia has not been very kind to Canadians in recent years in terms of tennis results, but be on the lookout for some Canadian flags on the scoreboard during the later rounds, they certainly won’t be there by chance.

Players Withdraw from Australian Open — The Friday Five

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by Maud Watson

Andrea Petkovic

Down and Out

You can add two more high profile names to the withdrawal list for the first major of the year. German Andrea Petkovic has been forced to withdrawal with a stress fracture in the back that will likely take a good six to eight weeks to heal properly. After the splash she made last year in Melbourne, this will be a blow to the start of her 2012 campaign. But Petkovic is an upbeat, positive competitor. It would be surprising if she didn’t come back in the spring fresh, hungry, and ready to break out a few new dance moves. The more troubling withdrawal has to be that of Venus Williams, who stated that she still felt unprepared to return to match play. With all due respect to Venus, this is just one more reason to argue against selecting her for Olympic duty. You can call it admirable that she’s striving to get in shape for that event, and it’s more than understandable for her to set that goal. But the last few years, her availability for events has become increasingly suspect as injuries have mounted, and she’s even more of a liability now. Couple that with her frequent lack of commitment to Fed Cup and even the WTA to an extent, and it just doesn’t seem right to select her over another female player who arguably has as likely of a chance to help bring home Olympic Doubles Gold and has put in the time at both the Fed Cup and WTA levels. The powers-at-be are unlikely to see it that way, but it certainly warrants discussion.

Question Marks

Caroline Wozniacki has grown used to the questions as to whether or not the next major will prove to be her breakthrough. But as the Dane heads into the first Slam of 2012, she’s also going to have to contend with injury speculations. In her quarterfinal loss to Aggie Radwanska in Sydney, it was evident she was suffering from a wrist injury. Thankfully, an MRI showed that inflammation is the culprit rather than something more serious. But the wrist is always a potentially serious injury in this sport, and Wozniacki will need to keep an eye on it going forward. If she hasn’t already done so, she may want to consider taking an extended break after the Australian Open. Besides, it’s almost inevitable that she’ll lose her No. 1 ranking to Kvitova, and her play in 2012 has thus far been underwhelming. Choosing to recoup and regroup could pay dividends come spring.

Strong Start

The first week of the ATP regular season came to a conclusion last weekend, and some familiar names did well to argue for the label of contender in Melbourne. Murray impressed fans and his new coach, Ivan Lendl, en route to the title in Brisbane. Tsonga also continued the fine form that he ended with in 2011, defeating compatriot Gael Monfils for the title in Doha. But perhaps in many ways the most impressive victory was that of young Canadian Milos Raonic, who held his nerve to edge out Janko Tipsarevic in a match composed of three tiebreak sets. For a guy who had his momentum severely interrupted by injury last year, he’s come back with a vengeance. He’s more of a long shot than either Murray or Tsonga, but be sure to keep this young gun on your radar in Melbourne.

Topsy Turvy

Where the ATP’s first week didn’t produce too many surprises, the WTA continued its trend of unlikely winners, as Jie Zheng won in Auckland and Kaia Kanepi triumphed in Brisbane. No offense to either woman. Kanepi has a big game, and Zheng is a feisty competitor who’s no stranger to picking off the game’s top stars to post some impressive tournament runs. But neither is a household name, and neither is truly a strong candidate to be named a dark horse. Still, in the topsy-turvy world that is the WTA, a little confidence can go a long way. Don’t be surprised to see either one of these players make some noise at the Aussie Open.

Score Settled

He’s had a colorful past, so say what you want about the guy, but hats off to Alex Bogomolov Jr. who took the high road with minimal fuss and paid the USTA the $75,000 it was seeking for his decision to now represent Russia. Fans seemed split on the USTA’s demands, and with good reason. Bogomolov has given back to the USTA in a variety of ways, and it’s not as though he was ever going to be selected for American Davis Cup duty. Factor in that there are certain other players that have also received a heap of assistance from the USTA with little return for the investment, and the USTA’s demand did seem a little high. But Bogomolov’s decision to pay them the money now should ultimately prove the best thing for his future. He’s rid himself of this latest demon and ensured that there are no hard feelings on either side. Here’s to hoping he can continue to enjoy success in the second half of his tumultuous career.

Raonic Collects Second Title in Chennai

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Milos Raonic picked up right where he left off after a breakthrough 2011 campaign, winning his first tournament of 2012 at the Aircel Chennai Open in Chennai, India.
The Canadian rising star outlasted Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4) in a thrilling, well-played final that eclipsed the three-hour mark and is an early candidate for ATP match of the year. The win is Raonic’s second ATP World Tour title after winning his maiden crown in San Jose last March.

Milos Raonic wins Chennai

Remarkably, there was not one break of serve in the match which saw Raonic hit no less than 35 aces all while maintaining a first serve percentage above 70 percent. The 35 aces is the fifth highest ace total in a final since 1991. In fact, the 21-year-old  served 76 aces in four matches and was never broken in 48 service games. He is the first player since Roger Federer in 2008 to win a tournament without dropping serve.
Raonic defeated World No. 10 Nicolas Almagro in the semifinals and No. 9 Tipsarevic in the championship match and now has five career Top 10 wins. This is the first time in his career he has defeated two Top 10 players in the same tournament. Also of note, Raonic becomes the first player born in the 90’s to win two ATP titles, making him the favourite among the young guns of the Tour to make a splash at the Australian Open next week.
With his title run in Chennai, Raonic will move up to around no. 26 on the ATP rankings. The withdrawals of Robin Soderling and Marin Cilic mean that he could be seeded no. 24 in Australia, thus avoiding a match up with a Top 8 seed until the fourth round.
Last year in Melbourne, Raonic announced his arrival with a Round of 16 showing before falling to David Ferrer in four sets. The “Maple Leaf Missile” and his lethal serve seem poised to make another deep run Down Under and could pose a big threat in the second week of the season’s first Grand Slam event.

Nestor and Mirnyi win Brisbane

Another week, another title for Daniel Nestor. He and partner Max Mirnyi defeated Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner 6-1, 6-2 to win the Brisbane International and their fifth title together. The win is also Nestor’s 76th career title and his first triumph in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, wrapping up a rather impressive opening week for tennis in Canada, Rebecca Marino and Aleksandra Wozniak battled for close to three hours in the first all-Canadian match up of the year in the second round of qualifying at the Hobart International. Battling bronchitis, Wozniak pulled out a gutsy win, 11-9 in the third set tiebreak. The two players have met twice in the past four months and both matches went the distance. For the first time in a while, there seems to be a Canadian rivalry brewing, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.

Around The Corner: Sydney, Auckland and the Kooyong Classic

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Juan Martin del Potro

With just over a week until the start of the Australian Open, there is little time to tinker with one’s game for the first Grand Slam of the year.
While the top four players in the world will be taking the week to rest themselves in anticipation for a deep-run in Melbourne, there are plenty of other of the game’s great players who are in action.
The ATP has two tournaments, one in Sydney and another in Auckland, while the Kooyong Classic exhibition will boast a strong field as well. Here’s a closer look at what tennis fans can expect.
Apia Sydney International
Juan Martin Del Potro starts his year in Sydney as the top seed. After making a strong return to the circuit last season following a wrist injury, the 2009 U.S. Open champion is ready to make some noise this year. Del Potro is certainly capable of challenging anyone in the top four and I would put him in the  mix of the few serious contenders at the Aussie Open.
The Argentine could see Marcos Baghdatis in the quarters here and then Feliciano Lopez who is the fourth seed. I would however, put the winner of the first round match between Viktor Troicki and veteran Aussie Lleyton Hewitt to advance against Del Potro in this section of the draw.
Hewitt has won the even four times, in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. Don’t expect a repeat as his career is clearly on the downward spiral and injuries have taken their toll on the two-time Grand Slam champion. This may be the last year we see Hewitt playing on the ATP Tour, so enjoy him while you still can.
John Isner from the United Statesis the second seed. Patrick McEnroe recently stated that he feels Isner has the potential to reach the top ten in the ATP rankings. While I do not see that as being a realistic assessment for the 6’9” Isner just yet, this guy is certainly a strong top-thirty player who can cause incredible damage on a hard court due to his imposing serve. It will be Isner’s first action of the year so it will be interesting to see how he comes out of the gate.
Isner could face either veteran Xavier Malisse or Radek Stepanek in the quarters and given his ranking he should be beating opponents like these. However, at this stage of the year anything is possible.
A likely semi-final opponent would be third seeded Richard Gasquet who had a solid week at the Hopman Cup where he defeated Fernando Verdasco, Lleyton Hewitt and Wu Di before falling to Tomas Berdych in the finals.
Heineken Open
All-court wonder and the always hustling David Ferrer is the number one seed in Auckland. Ferrer started the year off by making the finals of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi and was the runner-up in that exhibition to Novak Djokovic. Ferrer starts his week off with a bye at the Heineken Open and will face the winner of the match between Albert Ramos and Lukas Rosol. In other words, a nice way to ease into the tournament.
Ferrer’s main opposition will be from third seeded Fernando Verdasco who has just competed in the Hopman Cup. There, the Spaniard defeated Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, knocked-off Wu Di of China 6-3, 6-4 and was beaten by Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4. So essentially, he won the two matches he was supposed to win and could not find a way to be competitive against a solid opponent in Gasquet. Never any consistency with Fernando, but he has the tools to go deep in any draw.
The second seed here is Nicolas Almagro, but unless we’re talking about a clay court match I wouldn’t count on this guy to get too far. While he did make the semi-finals in Chennai, the field was rather weak and he was no match for Canadian Milos Raonic who took him out 6-4, 6-4.
Look for guys like Philipp Kohlschreiber, Donald Young and perhaps Sam Querrey to enjoy some success in this draw. It is nice to see Young seeded in the tournament (7th) and hopefully able to build on a nice season in 2011. There is still so much potential with the American and he still has many years ahead of him despite already being a presence on the ATP Tour for several seasons.
AAMI Kooyong Classic
Always a high-quality exhibition tournament, the Kooyong Classic again boasts a strong field in 2012. Ten players make-up the draw that has both a championship and consolation side to it.
American Andy Roddick will be the most high-profile player involved and will make his season debut on the tennis court at Kooyong. Roddick’s buddy and current number-one American male tennis player, Mardy Fish, will also be present.
This year will be of the utmost importance to Roddick who struggled mightily a year ago. He needs to re-assert himself and prove to his fellow players that he is still relevant in the sport today. Usually a strong starter, Roddick will be one to watch closely here this week.
Continuing with North-American players, we have Canadian Milos Raonic who has just made the finals in Chennai. Raonic is going to be very exciting to watch this year, especially if he can stay healthy. This guy’s game is perfectly suited toWimbledonand it is no surprise that he grew up idolizing Pete Sampras.
The rest of the players here include Jurgen Melzer, Bernard Tomic, Tomas Berdych and recent Qatar finalists Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Of all the stops this week, Kooyong will be the one I’m most interested in due to its very strong field.
Keep checking back with us all week long for updates and check out my Twitter feed as well if you like. Only one more week until the first Slam of 2012 so we have lots to look forward to!