A Chance for Revenge

This past U.S. Open was a little different from other Majors we've seen the last several years. With Rafael Nadal out of the picture and Roger Federer sent home in the quarters, we saw a few less-familiar faces in the final weekend. And while the most experienced and most decorated were the ones eventually vying for the title, you have to think the others may have squandered a huge opportunity to play for a big trophy.

This weekend was their chance to swing the pendulum back in their favor.

The pressure was high on David Ferrer to carry Spain's mantle in New York with Nadal missing, and in making his second semifinal there, he arguably delivered. But he failed to capitalize on a one-set lead over Novak Djokovic and delayed his first career Slam final by at least another couple months. So he was sure to change things when he led his country in their Davis Cup tie this weekend. Playing on home soil, the defending champions were already at an advantage, and with Ferrer fired up their edge was that much greater.

Ferrer got off to a slow start, dropping his first set to resurgent American Sam Querrey on Friday, but rebounded quickly to get the first point for the Spaniards. Teammate Nicolas Almagro had a slightly tougher day, forced to his fourth five-setter of the year against big serving John Isner. But Nico was able to stay ever so slightly stronger and gave his country a two tie lead going into the doubles match. Things got a little tense over the weekend -- with the Bryan brothers finally putting the U.S. on the board, the tide very well could have turned. But Ferrer took the court again on Sunday, this time facing off against Isner, who'd actually won their last meeting less than a year ago. He lost the first set again, dropping a tiebreak to his opponent, but regrouped quickly to close out his match. The win put Spain in their fourth Davis Cup final in five year, but more importantly for their leader, redeeming his loss from just a week ago and putting him in a place to do even more amazing things the balance of this year.

Tomas Berdych had been in a slightly more precarious position all year. A staple in the top ten, he'd nevertheless been rather spotty this season, going winless on the grass and squandering match points versus Isner in the Winston-Salem final. In New York he'd pulled off the upset of the tournament, dominating world #1 Roger Fededer in the quarters, and even took a set off Andy Murray in the semis before the wind-torn match shifted the momentum. He needed to rebound quickly too, leading his Czech team against the three-time runner-up Argentines, and he more than performed.

He had to come from behind, though, even more than did Ferrer. Juan Martin Del Potro, himself on the mend this year, had given the South Americans an early lead with a fairly routine win over Radek Stepanek. Berdych, then, fell to a 1-2 set deficit to veteran clay courter Juan Monaco and lost a break lead in the decider. Momentum seemed to be on the home team's side, but the Czech stayed tough to even the score on Friday, then teamed with Stepanek to take the doubles tie and the lead into Sunday's play. With DelPo sitting out the reverse singles with injury, Berdych was able to dominate against substitute player Carlos Berlocq and clinch the win for the visiting team. And playing at the top of his game again, he might have erased a bit of the sting from his loss in the Big Apple.

The weekend's action sets up a repeat of the 2009 Davis Cup final, one which the Spaniards fully owned. Things may be a little different this time, with leaders on both teams looking as sharp as they have in some time. And with the pain of recent defeats hopefully gone, we're sure to see everyone put up some exciting fights when it really matters.

Davis Cup Quarterfinals: Separating the Men...

I don't think I'm the only one who was surprised by some of the results during first round Davis Cup action this year. Even beyond the amazing U.S. triumph over Swiss giants Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, we saw a surprisingly close call in the Austria/Russia tie, and the upstart Japan team took Croatia down to the wire. And with the fields narrowed for this weekend's quarterfinal matches, we'll now really see who's stronger than their record and whose previous wins were just a fluke.

Spain vs. Austria

The Austrians will have their work cut out for them. Against defending champion Spain, they'll be up against a slew of strong stars. They might be missing their biggest star in Rafael Nadal, but David Ferrer is consistently one of the biggest fighters on court, and Nicolas Almagro, relatively quiet recently, has nonetheless continued to show his prowess on the clay. Rounded out by Marcel Granollers and doubles powerhouse Marc Lopez, they should be the clear favorites.

Austria will be banking on the strength of Jurgen Melzer, playing well again after a title in Memphis. The 2010 French Open semifinalist has had his own success on the dirt in the past, and might just be able to recapture that momentum. It'll be tough, though, with no other real singles stars on the team -- the Austrians may have to hope that doubles rubber goes their way.

Argentina vs. Croatia

The Croats will also have tough time if they're going to advance further. Pitted against a veteran Argentine team that boasts resurgent talents of Juan Martin Del Potro, finally back in the top ten again, Juan Monaco, a surprise semifinalist in Miami, and veteran David Nalbandian, arguably a bigger surprise in the Indian Wells quarters. They've made at least the semis in five of the last seven years and seemed primed to do it again.

Their opponents, meanwhile, will be lead by Marin Cilic and big-serving Ivo Karlovic, neither of whom are playing at the top of their game. Either is capable of pulling off an upset, of course, but they'll have to bring their A-game if they're going to unseat last year's runners-up. But playing on the Argentine's homefield, it seems unlikely we'll see any huge surprises here.

Czech Republic vs. Serbia

Both the Czechs and the 2010 champion Serbs were able to handily take their opening ties, each just losing a rubber during the weekend. But things might not be so one-sided this time around. Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek are both playing well for their team, while their opponents' brightest start, world #1 Novak Djokovic, will be sitting out this round. Sure Janko Tipsarevic, at a career high ranking of #8, is coming off a run to the Miami quarters, where he very nearly notched an upset over Andy Murray. And Nenad Zimonjic is always a force in the doubles rubber. But if both these countries play to their ability, it could be the closest match-up we see.

France vs. U.S.

Quite possibly the most attention will be put on the Americans as they try to return to the semis for the first time since 2008 -- though that might just be because I'm in America. Still, having deposed a heavily favored Swiss team does put a bit of a target on their backs. They'll be missing stalwarts like Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish, and will instead rely on Indian Wells finalist and rising star Ryan Harrison. Backed up by the #1 doubles team Mike and Bob Bryan, they're not without firepower, but this will be a true test of the next generation of U.S. stars.

France, on the other hand, will bring four top-fifty singles players to the mix, a couple of whom are also well-accomplished in the doubles realm. But Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, though always a threat, has been little better than mediocre this year, and Gilles Simon suffered a close loss to Isner in the California dessert. They have experience on their side, though, and a little more time at the top than their opponents. But if the Americans can score the win, it might be the coup we've been waiting for.

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Of course, like with any major tennis event, there's no way to really know what will happen. But this weekend's quarterfinals sure hold potential for more than a few surprises -- and a couple blowouts. The results could really make clear the differences between those that advance and those that stay behind. And as the survivors continue to vie for Davis Cup glory, it looks like the competition will only get tougher from here.

Davis Cup Preview: A Man or Two Down

A week after the ladies launched their opening salvos in this year's battle for Fed Cup, the men are ready to do the same. And though a couple top-tier stars will be out battling for their nation's pride, a few teams are left without their stalwarts and could have to really fight for what should be theirs.

Spain vs. Kazakhstan

Defending champion Spain, winner of the Davis Cup three of the last four years, won't have the benefit of Rafael Nadal -- a key player here the last few years -- but comes with some depth and experience that should give them the edge over the upstart Kazakhs.

Nicolas Almagro, playing just his third World Group tie heads up the team and is coming off his best run at the Australian Open -- losing three tiebreaks to Tomas Berdych in their four-set, four-hour slugfest, had a couple balls bounced a different way, he might have scored the win. He's been quiet recently, but on his home turf -- on his best surface -- he could be deadly. He's backed up by world #27 Marcel Granollers, admittedly new to the elite ranks. He's never played singles for Spain and hasn't had a great start to the year, but a title run late last year in Valencia -- which included wins over Marin Cilic, Gael Monfils and Juan Martin Del Potro -- tells me he's got potential to make a big impact.

But the Spaniards can't rest too easy. Though none of the Kazakhs are ranked in the top fifty, Mikhail Kukushkin made a big push to get there in Melbourne. Barely in double digits at the time, the twenty-four year old stunned Viktor Troicki in the second round, and followed it up with his second five-set win in a row, beating Monfils to make the sweet sixteen. Now a perfect 4-0 in matches that go the distance, no one can assume this man will eventually tire out. And with Andrey Golubev -- ranked #33 in the world about a year ago -- backing him up, this may not be as easy as it initially seems.

Germany vs. Argentina

Last year's runner-up Argentine team might have an even harder time. Without big-serving Juan Martin Del Potro playing this tie, they'll have to rely on some consistent, yet veteran players to hold the torch. Juan Monaco is coming off a title at Viña Del Mar and is at his highest ranking in three and a half years. And Juan Ignacio Chela, just a few spots behind him, hasn't been in the top twenty since early 2008. Perhaps their best performance will come from David Nalbandian, who's well off his career-best ranking at #84, but boasts an impressive 22-5 record in Davis Cup singles. The linchpin of the team could help carry them past a tricky German squad.

Still there will be a few close calls. Florian Mayer had some of his best results on clay last year, and though he hasn't played -- or won -- a lot in 2011, he's capable of pulling off some big upsets. He has winning records against both Monaco and Chela, and could pounce if given the chance. And Philipp Kohlschreiber, arguably the stronger player these days, beat Nicolas Almagro in Auckland and Richard Gasquet in Montpellier, while Philipp Petzschner, half of one of the world's best doubles teams, has been notching big wins in singles as well. Either might surprise us this weekend.

Sweden vs. Serbia

Like the top contenders before them, 2010 champions Serbia are also without their team leader Novak Djokovic. But the likes of top-ten player Janko Tipsarevic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic should be more than enough to easily handle a Robin Soderling-less Swedish team. The underdogs' best hope might be Robert Lindstedt, ranked tenth in the world in doubles -- he's the highest ranked singles player on the team, at #309. Michael Ryderstedt, almost forty spots behind him, hasn't won a main draw match at an ATP event since July. On paper, it looks like this could be a near-Serbian sweep.

France vs. Canada

France, luckily, comes to their Davis Cup tie fully prepared with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils both in action. They've been solid performers in recent months, with Monfils making the finals in both Doha and Montpellier just last week and Tsonga claiming that Doha title along with runner-up spots in both London and Paris. Teaming with veteran Julien Benneteau and current doubles #5 Michael Llodra, they paint a formidable picture.

But despite the top-tier star power, they shouldn't overlook a wily Canadian team, looking for their first ever World Group win. Milos Raonic looks to be back in form, winning a title to start the year in Chennai. He might not have made as deep a run in Melbourne as he did last year, but he's certainly capable of serving his way through a few sets. And as he gets back on the trajectory he was on before injury stalled his 2011, even on-paper favorites aren't safe. And seven-time Major doubles champion Daniel Nestor could help notch an easy rubber win that may be the decider in a surprisingly close tie.

Italy vs. Czech Republic

The Italians have played the Czechs a surprising ten times at Davis Cup, with the eastern Europeans holding a 7-3 advantage. They haven't met since 1995, when the Italians secured a solid victory, but things may be going back to normal now. Tomas Berdych is coming straight off a title in Montpellier and has amassed an impressive 8-1 record on the year, and Radek Stepanek, once ranked #8 in the world, seems to be playing well again. But also look for Lukas Rosol to try making a statement in a possible reverse singles match -- ranked just seventy-eighth in the world, he is getting more play on the ATP Tour this year, and though he's only scored one win so far, the twenty-six year old may be ready to make a move.

The Italians have some firepower too, but nothing that should pose too big a threat for the Czechs. Andreas Seppi is just out of the top forty, and though he's scored a couple upsets over the last few months, he hasn't beaten a top-ten player since 2008. And Potito Starace, three times a runner-up in his career but never a bride champion, hasn't quite had the breakthrough I've been waiting for. It shouldn't be difficult for a strong -- and stacked -- Czech team to improve their record.

U.S. vs. Switzerland

The U.S. is technically the favorite in this match up -- with a record thirty-two Davis Cup trophies in the case, they certainly have history on their side. But even with their top player -- their top two players, in fact -- they'll likely struggle against a Swiss team that boasts Grand Slam king Roger Federer. Mardy Fish, the best hope for the U.S. in singles, has certainly put up a fight, taking sets from Fed both at last year's year-end championships and in the 2010 Cincinnati finals. But he hasn't beaten the world #3 in almost four years. John Isner doesn't have a better record, going 0-2 against Roger.

There's a little more leeway against Swiss #2 Stanislas Wawrinka. The twenty-six year old has only notched one win in five outings against the two Americans, and he's had some spotty results recently, having advanced past the quarters of only one tournament since last February. And veteran doubles champion Mike Bryan -- playing without twin and brand new father Bob -- could prove to be a great mentor for rising star Ryan Harrison as he seeks to establish himself as the next generation of U.S. athletes. I'm not giving this win to the Swiss outright, but something tells me it could come down to that all-important doubles rubber.

Japan vs. Croatia

This might be the biggest toss-up among this weekend's ties. Croatia has some real tennis talent in its ranks -- unfortunately, neither Marin Cilic, battling a leg injury, nor fellow former top-ten player Ivan Ljubicic will be representing their country. Ivo Karlovic should be able to pick up the reins somewhat, as the big-server seems to be making strides recovering from injury, and Ivan Dodig, one of the biggest flame-outs of 2011, will look to redeem himself here.

But they'll be playing on foreign ground and Japan's #1 Kei Nishikori, on the verge of the global elite these days, will certainly have the crowd on his side. One of the few players to beat Novak Djokovic last year, he's certainly got the talent to defeat most opponents. And Go Soeda, barely ranking in double digits right now, is coming off a Challenger win in Honolulu and a solid run to the semis in Chennai as a qualifier -- incidentally, he beat Dodig during that event. This one will be a battle between rising stars and those on the rebound, and whoever gets in the first punch could do the most damage.

Russia vs. Austria

If the Japan/Croatia tie is the biggest toss-up, this one might have the most at stake. There's a lot of star power on both teams, but not everyone has been playing at their best recently, and anyone might be able to take advantage.

For the Russians Mikhail Youzhny -- #1 in his country, but still out of the top thirty -- will try to build on his Zagreb title from last week. He didn't face much of a challenge from his opponents, though, so we'll get a true test this weekend of whether he's back in form. Alex Bogomolov, playing for the former Soviet Republic despite his former allegiance to the U.S., will make his Davis Cup debut, while former #3 Nikolay Davydenko may be relegated to the doubles rubber. It'll be interesting to see how captain Shamil Tarpischev chooses to stack his team.

Meanwhile the Austrians will hope that Jurgen Melzer, top ten less than a year ago, can live up to his potential. After a tough couple months, he needs to make an impact again on the singles scene -- his teammate Andreas Haider-Maurer has shown signs of potential, but has yet to make an impact on Tour. On the other hand, the sixteenth seed in World Group has a slew of doubles talent to choose from -- Melzer, Alexander Peya, and Oliver Marach are all ranked in the top twenty-five for the paired discipline. Unfortunately, of course, that strength can only translate into one rubber, max. We're going to have to see a lot more depth, if this team is going to advance.

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With pockets of powerhouses, and open opportunities, showing up throughout this weekend's rubbers, it looks like we could have some big matches -- and some big upsets. Whether the heavy favorites will make early exits or tricky upstarts will finally get footing is still to be seen. But we've seen almost anything can happen at Davis Cup. And as the field gets narrowed, be ready for a few surprises.

Hail the Conquering Heroes

What a ride it's been for the Spanish Davis Cup team.

After two years atop the world, they were unceremoniously ousted from the 2010 draw in the quarters, losing all five of their rubbers to France. But this year they reasserted their dominance and came out in front again.

Rafael Nadal, though not unsuccessful by any means this year, hasn't been quite the force he was in previous years. Though he ends the year at #2, he hasn't won a title since Roland Garros, and with only three trophies in total he's marked his least prolific season since 2004. After failing to get out of the round robins at the year-end championships, he might have lost a bit of his spunk. But he came out firing in Seville on Friday, dropping just four games to Argentina's Juan Monaco in the first singles rubber of the weekend.

Next up London semifinalist David Ferrer was forced to endure a grueling battle against 2009 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro, getting a break early, but suddenly finding himself down two sets to one. The pair traded breaks in the fourth and the fifth, but the Spaniard was finally able to convert in both and, after nearly five hours, gave his team the two-rubber lead.

Saturday's match, which pitted Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez against veteran David Nalbandian and doubles specialist Eduardo Schwank, proved to be Spain's only hiccup this weekend. The usually strong Lopez was broken four times that day and the Argentines capitalized on the twenty-six errors made by their opponents to win the match in straight sets, taking just under two hours to do so.

But the Spaniards were back firing on Sunday, when Nadal met with Del Potro in the reverse singles match. Though DelPo had notched three straight wins against the former world #1 in 2009, since returning from injury this year, he's only taken a single set from his rival. Despite his long battle on Friday, the Argentine was able to take advantage of some weak serving by Nadal in the first set -- he won all games on return and took the early lead. But Rafa came back in the second, took the lead into the fourth, and survived a set which included eight breaks before dominating the tiebreak. Another four hours on court and Nadal had closed out the match and the championship with a four-set win over the big guy.

The win secured for Spain its fifth Davis Cup crown -- all earned in this new century. It seems only appropriate the country should be so dominant, with six players in the top thirty and another seven in the top hundred. With the depth of talent on the team, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more trophies come their way in the near future. And this particular win could spark some even more dominance from these players throughout the rest of the season.

Davis Cup Championship Preview: Clash of Two Titans

It'll be a battle of powerhouses vying for Davis Cup glory this weekend, as two teams we've become accustomed to seeing in the final try once more to stake their claim on the trophy. One's done it a couple times in recent years, while the other has a real shot at making its first trip to the top of the podium.

Home-team Spain, twice a champion in the last three years, makes its way to this weekend's final after a thrashing of last year's runner-up France in the September semis. Led by world #2 Rafael Nadal and Barclays Championship semifinalist David Ferrer, they've got higher-profile names on their side, but their star power may extend deeper than than.

Feliciano Lopez has clawed his way back to a career-high ranking at #20, thanks to some solid play since the spring. He made his first championship match in over a year in Belgrade and stunned Andy Roddick to make the quarters at Wimbledon. He beat Mardy Fish in a long first rubber back in July and notched a win over Juan Martin Del Potro in the 2008 final. He'll probably get relegated to the doubles rubber, but might be able to score some key wins in the reverse singles matches.

And former top-ten player Fernando Verdasco has been a bit out of the spotlight recently, but still ranks in the top twenty-five. He's won both singles rubbers he's played at Davis Cup this year and has scored victories over higher-ranked players like Marin Cilic, Jurgen Melzer and Nicolas Almagro this year. He's had a less successful year in the doubles circuit, but with the crowd on his side and playing for country, he could still do some damage.

The Spaniards will have to face a pretty stacked Argentine team though. The three-time second place finishers secured their spot in the final after top-ranked Juan Martin Del Potro benefited from a retirement by Novak Djokovic back in September -- that gave the South Americans an insurmountable 3-1 lead over defending champs Serbia. DelPo, spitting distance from returning to the top ten, leads the team in the finals, coming off a semifinal run in Valencia and a runner-up placing in Vienna. He has an impressing 9-2 record in Davis Cup play, and though he has lost two matches to Rafael Nadal this year, he had a nice streak going before that, and soundly defeated David Ferrer in their last two meetings.

Veteran David Nalbandian could also feature highly in this weekend's rubbers. He's fallen a bit in the rankings, but won both his singles matches this year, including one over then-#16 Viktor Troicki. Never one that should be taken lightly, he has fairly solid records against the likely singles representatives. And with top-thirty players like Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela both in the mix, there's a lot of talent in the pool for captain Tito Vazquez to choose from.

Spain has won all of the teams' previous ties, and soundly defeated the Argentinians in the 2008 final. But some new blood could help ignite a fire in the underdogs. If Del Potro, still really developing his game, is in top form, it might be a closer fight than we think. And with the pride of their nations resting on their shoulders, the motivation to win has never been greater.

Right Back At It

It hasn't even been a week since the last ball of the U.S. Open was struck, but that hasn't prevented some of the sport's biggest stars from representing their countries in the Davis Cup semifinals and World Group play-offs. And while newly-minted New York champion Novak Djokovic bowed out of his first rubber, plenty others who were pushed to the limit last week were out and swinging in the first day of the weekend's battles.

Runner-up Rafael Nadal might have been upset that he was unable to defend his title from last year, but he showed no signs of that on Friday when he took on France's Richard Gasquet on the clay of Spain. A tricky player, Gasquet has handed losses to the likes of Jurgen Melzer and Andy Roddick already this year, and cannot be overlooked. But Nadal made quick work of his opponent, winning all but two points on second serve and only allowing the Frenchman twelve on return. It took just over two hours to give Spain the early lead in the tie -- the desire to prove something runs strong in this one, it seems, as it's at least the second time he's taken out recent disappointment on a Davis Cup challenge.

Teammate David Ferrer suffered a similar upset in New York when the fifth seed fell to recently cut-down Andy Roddick in the round of sixteen. But against world #11 Gilles Simon, who himself suffered an early defeat to sub-twenty American John Isner at Flushing Meadows, Ferrer was indomitable -- he committed far fewer errors and broke his opponent an astonishing eight times during the match. The two-tie deficit will be pretty hard for last year's second place finishers to overcome now.

Over in Belgrade, the defending champions were down their biggest star, and that certainly put them at a disadvantage to the power-players on Argentina's team. Veteran David Nalbandian, who received a bit of a reprieve by facing Viktor Troicki instead of white-hot Novak Djokovic, nevertheless was relentless against the much-higher ranked Serb. After splitting the first two sets, he raised his game in the last two, withstanding fifteen total aces and staying aggressive himself. It was his first top-twenty win since January and reminded us that the nearly-thirty year old isn't going anywhere just yet.

Several hours later, 2009 U.S. Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro, who had his return in New York staunched earlier than I would have hoped, continued his comeback. In a rematch of the Delray Beach final, this time he was in control from the start against Janko Tipsarevic. His straight set win gave Argentina a two-tie lead over last year's victors, which could be hard to overcome without Djokovic in the mix.

The action wasn't all among those contesting the World Group semis, however. Down in the play-off level of Davis Cup, U.S. Open semifinalist Roger Federer was fighting for the chance to elevate Switzerland in next year's games. After compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka put them in a hole by losing to Australian upstart Bernard Tomic, the team's main man took the court versus fellow journeyman Lleyton Hewitt, a man who won their most recent meeting in Halle last year. But after losing the first set, the Grand Slam master eventually got the better of Hewitt, bringing the Swiss even with their opponents. It's got to boost the confidence of the man who blew two chances to make the U.S. Open finals.

It's true that there is no rest for the weary, and with even players who were around through championship weekend still showing up for their homelands, you know how important the Davis Cup is to them. And for whoever wins, they'll have the pleasure of knowing they had to beat the best to do it.

Davis Cup Preview: What to Watch

There's a lot at stake for the countries and players contesting the first round of Davis Cup this weekend -- national pride, vengeance for recent losses, validation of new coaches, to name a few. Some are bringing out the big guns while others will battle challenges from all sorts of elements.

And while the final rubber scores will of course ultimately determine the winners, there are a couple under-the-radar stories that could matter just as much, no matter what the outcome.

Serbia vs. India

Defending champions Serbia are riding pretty high these days, what with Novak Djokovic’s second Major title and Janko Tipsarevic’s run to the Delray Beach finals. They’re rounded out by tricky Viktor Troicki and a doubles extraordinaire Nenad Zimonjic. With such a stacked team I doubt they’ll have trouble advancing.

And while their prospects for this tie might be dim, I’ll be watching the Indian team closely – newly reunited Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi made their way to the Australian Open finals in their first Slam together since 2002. And Rohan Bopanna, who’s established himself well in the paired discipline, has had some success on the singles side when playing for his country. It might be too much to ask for a win, but if they put up a fight, I’ll be happy.

Sweden vs. Russia

The Russians are the seeded team in this tie, but without their top player Mikhail Youzhny they could be headed for an early exit. Sweden may be resting its hopes on only one player, but if they’re going to put all their eggs in one basket, Robin Soderling is not a bad one to have.

The more interesting story here might be the return of Joachim Johansson, a one-time top-ten player who hasn’t played a lot of Tour matches the last few years. But the Swede, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2004, is still young and powerful -- if he puts in a good showing we might see a lot more of him this season.

Czech Republic vs. Kazakhstan

The Czech’s suffered a close loss to Serbia in last year’s semifinals, so you know they’ll be out to prove something, and against a middle-of-the road Kazakh team they shouldn’t have too much trouble. But that doesn’t mean their star Tomas Berdych will be off the hook -- he's finally started putting together wins again, but he has a ton of points coming off in the next few months. If he doesn’t start performing up to his ranking soon, his top ten ranking may be pretty short-lived.

Argentina vs. Romania

The 2008 runners-up might be missing their theoretic top player in Juan Martin Del Potro, but they should still be heavily favored over the Romanians, whose best hope may be in relatively unknown doubles specialist Horia Tecau.

But a couple of Argentine veterans will be using this as a platform to prove they’re still around. David Nalbandian put up one of the most exciting first rounds at the Australian Open, but retired from the following match -- he'll need to prove he’s not too old to be a factor in the long matches. And thirty-one year old Juan Ignacio Chela made the semis in Costa Do Sauipe and the finals in Buenos Aires -- I'd love to see him show those were not just flukes and that he is capable of putting up even bigger fights.

Chile vs. U.S.

With new coach Jim Courier comes big expectations for the seeded U.S. team, but the players, recovering from sickness and injury might not be in the shape he’d hoped. Andy Roddick played well in Memphis, but withdrew from Delray with the flu while the often unstoppable Bryan brothers haven’t played since winning in Melbourne. Couple that with John Isner's failing to defend most of the points he racked up in the first two months of last year and things may not be as easy as it seems. They may have gotten a bit of a respite as their Chilean opponents boast no one ranked in the top 150, so this will be a good opportunity to test themselves in a relatively safe environment.

Belgium vs. Spain

The Spaniards suffered a surprisingly early exit at last year's Davis Cup, being blanked by France in the quarterfinals after winning the whole enchilada the prior two years. That could explain why they’re bringing their biggest weapons to face a fairly innocuous Belgian team.

There shouldn’t be too much drama in this match, but I’ll still be watching a few players closely. Rafael Nadal hasn’t seen any action since the Australian Open when he suffered a hamstring injury and Fernando Verdasco, who finally seemed to be turning his career back in the right direction, hasn’t won a match since that disappointing loss in the San Jose finals. If he’s not over that defeat, it could take a while before he regains any confidence.

Croatia vs. Germany

Croatia has built itself into a strong team too, but certain players have struggled of late. One of my personal favorites Marin Cilic had a tough start to the year and only recently began winning back-to-back matches again, while big serving Ivo Karlovic continues to out-ace opponents without ever breaking their serve.

It might be strange to say the Croats' best hope may lie with one of its least known players. World #57 Ivan Dodig is having a standout year, being the only player to take a set from Novak Djokovic in Australia and then following it up with his first career title in Zagreb. If he puts in a few wins on the homecourt, it could mean a changing of the guard for the country.

Austria vs. France

Last year's second place French team is missing some of its biggest stars with both Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga out of the mix, so it could be time for some new stars to shine. I’m not talking about Gilles Simon, who is admittedly clawing his way back up the ranks after being the leading athlete in the country just a few years back. Instead, I’ll be watching Michael Llodra who, at thirty years of age has just now established himself as a legitimate singles and doubles threat. If he puts up the kind of showing he did in 2010, it could be a long weekend for the Austrians.

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Clearly individual performances aren't the biggest concern during Davis Cup play, but certain team members certainly have a chance to shine during their ties. It might mean a turnaround in their careers or the establishment of a new streak of success. Either way, the opportunities could be enormous -- and they'll all have their entire countries rooting them on.

Take the Lead

With two days of Davis Cup play in the books, the results so far aren't entirely unexpected. France, Croatia and the Czech Republic have won all their rubbers, giving them passes to the quarterfinals in July. Other countries still have a bit of a mountain to climb -- and the U.S., it seems, could see its reign of the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group* come to an end if it loses either of its next two matches to Serbia.

Of those ties left to be decided, most interesting could be the dual between Switzerland and Spain, ironically a match-up that has dominated the tennis world for most of the last five years. Though neither team's best player entered Davis Cup, there was plenty of talent on the courts. Nicolas Almagro and Stanislas Wawrinka took their first match to five long sets -- just short of four hours -- before the Swiss took the early lead. But David Ferrer, winner last week in Acapulco, made quick work of Marco Chiudinelli and Tommy Robredo teamed with Marcel Granollers to take the doubles match. One more win and the two-time defending champions will be in the second round.

Russia's dominance of India early on in their tie shouldn't be that surprising. But Igor Kunitsyn did struggle through his first two sets before beating world #128 Somdev Devvarman in four. The Russians took an easy two-rubber lead and looked to be on a roll until running into the legendary doubles team of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. It was good to see the two together again -- they haven't been regular season doubles partners for year, though they both remain at the top of their game and have captured more than a few Major titles separately. Of course it's unlikely that the underdogs will be able to stage a comeback against such a strong team, but it's nice to know they won't get blanked.

There's an interesting battle brewing in Sweden, where one of the hottest players on Tour last year, Robin Soderling, is trying to lead his country against the Argentines. With their star Juan Martin Del Potro still recovering from injury and former top-five player David Nalbandian still on the mend, it didn't look good for the 2008 runners-up, and Soderling won his first match to give the hometown team the early lead. But somewhat surprisingly Leonardo Mayer was able to rebound from a one-set deficit to tie up the singles score and Nalbandian paired with twenty-four year old Horacio Zeballos to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The most nerve-racking result so far, as I alluded to, is the hole the U.S. team finds themselves in. It's not wholly unexpected as top player Andy Roddick and veteran James Blake bowed out of play -- but with current, though uninitiated, stars like John Isner and Sam Querrey leading the pack, I'd have liked to see some more spark. Though both singles players were able to take one set apiece from Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic respectively, they weren't able to do much else. John did team with Bob Bryan to win their doubles match, so hope is not lost -- and the team has clearly put together a string of upsets over the last year, so they certainly shouldn't be counted out quite yet. Sadly, though, I won't hold my breath.

In the last tie of the first round, Chile finds itself up two matches against a nascent Israeli team. They have yet to play their doubles match, but so far Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez look to be in top form. I expect they'll be into the next round pretty easily.

We all know that in sports like tennis, there's no such thing as an insurmountable lead -- I'd especially love to see the U.S. and India pull off the rally and make the quarterfinals. But the play of their opponents over the last few days has proven to be top-quality and could make for a lot of fun Davis Cup matches this year. And if we see a new champion come December, at least we'll know they deserved it!

* The U.S. has played in the elite group every year since 1989, but a first round loss this year would force them to compete in the play-offs for the 2011 draw.

Davis Cup Surprises

First off, I want to apologize for the scarcity of posts this week. I promise to be more diligent! But some tennis stars are going to have to be diligent this weekend.

Today the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup began with some surprising results. Defending champs Spain claimed homecourt advantage in Marbella, but are still tied with Germany at one rubber apiece. And the U.S. had to struggle through two five-set matches and now needs to win all three of their remaining matches against Croatia.

Top-ten player Fernando Verdasco had a bit of a hiccup in his match against German Andreas Beck, dropping two close sets but taking his three fairly easy. But Tommy Robredo, who's already won two titles on clay this year, was wholly unimpressive against Philipp Kohlschreiber. The twenty-five year old scored thirty-three winners to Robredo's nineteen and kept his serve percentage high. In three relatively quick sets Philipp notched his first win in five tries over his opponent and held his country even with the heavy favorites.

Slightly more disturbing is the performance of the U.S. Not too long ago all the talk surrounded James Blake and his inability to win a five-set match -- when he finally got the monkey off his back at the 2007 U.S. Open, I thought he was on his way to undisturbed greatness. Unfortunately today the headlines were reversed and James allowed someone else to jump over that hurdle. He had an impressive two-set lead over big-serving Ivo Karlovic in their rubber but eventually gave the Wimbledon quarterfinalist his own first victory in a match that went the distance. Ivo stayed tough in the fourth set tiebreak and converted late in the fifth to give the Croats an early lead.

In the second rubber Mardy Fish took on Marin Cilic, a rematch of last year's Pilot Pen championship, which Fish lost. Mardy had been called in as a replacement for Andy Roddick who had pulled out of the competition due to a hip injury sustained in his epic Wimbledon final last week -- he wasn't meant to play here this weekend, but he was obviously going to put up a fight. He took a two-set to one lead and broke back at 3-5 in the fifth, putting the pressure on Cilic just as he was trying to close out. But extra innings were too much for him, and Mardy eventually fell 6-8 in an hour-plus final set.

As disappointing as those matches were, the biggest shock had to have come in the Russia-Israel match-up. Russia has won two Davis Cup titles this decade and is led by strong players like Marat Safin and Igor Andreev. Israel, on the other hand, boasts a realatively unknown Dudi Sela as its best player, followed by world #210 Harel Levy. But the Israelis were not deterred, taking both singles rubbers in four sets and setting themselves up with a comfortable lead going into the weekend.

Incidentally in the final tie being battled this weekend, 2008 runner-up Argentina is tied at one match apiece with the Czech Republic as Juan Martin Del Potro and Thomas Berdych each took their respective rubbers. The winner will get to meet either the U.S. or, more likely it seems, Croatia in the semis. But it sure would be fun to watch a comeback -- and I am definitely excited to see if they can do it!

By the way, I'll be at the Hall of Fame championships -- which Fish pulled out of to play in Europe -- in Newport this weekend. I'm sorry I won't get to watch him in action, but am totally psyched to catch the games on the grounds of the one-time host of the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Championships!

If you're in the area give me a shout!

Round and Round We Go

Somewhere in Germany a tournament very similar to Davis Cup is being contested this week. Eight teams organized by country are vying in the ARAG ATP World Team Champions, and while ranking points may not be on the line, national pride surely is.

The tournament is organized similar to the year-end finals, with a Red Group and a Blue Group, in which four countries play in a Round Robin format. Last year's champion Sweden faced France, Germany and the U.S. while runner-up Russia battled Italy, Serbia and Argentina in the other half.

Over the course of the last few days there have been, of course, several big upsets, and some surprising outcomes. France, led by world #7 Gilles Simon and #9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is so far down 0-2, while Sweden, on the strength of Robin Soderling and Andreas Vinciguerra, is up by the same margin. Argentina -- with #5 Juan Martin Del Potro on its team -- fell to Serbia but leads Italy -- which beat Russia who, in turn, is losing to Serbia.

Yikes.

Sweden might not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of tennis powerhouses -- Soderling is ranked twenty-fifth in the world, but after that the next Swede doesn't show up until Thomas Johansson at #194. But apparently, Dusseldorf is the stage in which the country likes to shine -- last year Soderling swept his singles and doubles matches, and could repeat the feat in 2009. And so far, they're primed to head into the finals again.



We'll see if luck -- and skill -- stays with them through the week. And until then, it will certainly be an exciting fight for the trophy!

Turning Back the Clocks

Some of us lost an hour of sleep last night as we marked the end of Daylight Savings -- or is it the beginning? I can never remember -- but some tennis players probably wish they could turn the clocks back a little farther, like to 2008. The first round of Davis Cup matches are in the books, and while many of the games went as expected, some individual performances were a bit surprising.

Two countries advanced by sweeping their opponents -- Argentina soared past the Netherlands, which had a team comprised of no name I recognized, and Croatia, somewhat more impressively, won all five matches against Chile, which was missing its top player, Fernando Gonzalez. Russia dropped only its doubles match in its victory over Romania, while the U.S. battled past a Roger Federer-less Swiss team, also winning 4-1. But there were some much tighter scores in other areas of the world.



France arguably had one of the best line-ups for its Davis Cup team with eighth-ranked Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who's already won two titles this year, headlining. They faced Radek Stepanek and his fellow Czechs in the first round. The teams split their first two singles matches, but with the once-promising Simon losing both of his matches, France took the early flight home.



World #3 Novak Djokovic had a similarly frustrating appearance, losing both of his singles matches in straight sets. He was no match against Rafael Nadal, but also couldn't convert against David Ferrer, who avenged his loss in the Dubai finals just a week ago. Nole's fellow Serbs, who had a very successful showing at last year's ATP Masters Cup, also struggled, only winning their doubles match.



But the closest face-off of the competition came when Israel took on Sweden. Every one of the singles matches went five sets -- and then some. Former top-ten player Thomas Johansson took fourteen games in his final set before beating Harel Levy and a still-emerging Dudi Sela had to go 11-9 to even the score. The fifth and deciding rubber pitted Levy against Andreas Vinciguerra with another 8-6 set going, this time, to the Israeli. After a rough couple of weeks for the country's players, they were finally able to come away with a win -- and earned a trip to the quarterfinals.



So as we spring into the next leg of the tennis season, we'll see if recent success stories will be able to maintain their momentum -- and if those others can turn things back around.

And the Winner Is...

Apparently Rafael Nadal wasn't quite linchpin I thought he was.

Argentina, well-poised to win its first ever Davis Cup, might have had home court advantage -- but that didn't stop Spain from powering through this weekend's finals, even without their star player.

Though the match-up may have looked pretty even on paper, most pundits seemed to favor the Argentines, led by world #9 Juan Martin Del Potro and #11 David Nalbandian. On the opposite side David Ferrer, who was Spain's highest-ranked player at #12, had been struggling in the latter part of the year, and when Nalbandian beat him in straight sets in the first game, it seemed the experts would be proven right.



But then Del Potro, who's seen his star soar this year -- he had been ranked as low as #81 in just April -- lost a surprising match to Feliciano Lopez, who'd peaked at #20 in 2005.



With the score tied on Saturday, all eyes were on the doubles match. Lopez and Fernando Verdasco were paired against Agustin Calleri and Nalbandian. After splitting the first two sets, the Spaniards squeaked by a tiebreak and didn't look back again. They won the fourth 6-3.

On Sunday with a 2-1 lead, Spain's coach Emilio Sanchez made the arguably risky choice of replacing Ferrer in the fourth match with Verdasco, a slightly younger player with less experience and fewer titles to his name. The Argentine opponent, Jose Acasuso would be formidable to either, holding a 4-3 record against David and 1-0 against Fernando.

But Verdasco was not intimidated today. In an exciting match that went the distance, Fernando was down one set to two before hitting his stride. Taking the last set 6-1, he clinched the Davis Cup title for Spain, their first since they beat the U.S. in 2004.



Incidentally, Marcel Granollers, the twenty-two year old called in to replace Nadal, didn't get his chance to play in the finals as the 3-1 lead established by Verdasco made Marcel's match unnecessary. But I'll be interested to see how he fares in 2009 -- maybe the recognition by Sanchez will give him the confidence he needs to notch some big wins next year!

¡Viva España!

Davis Cup Preview

This weekend the World Wars of tennis are being held south of the equator, and by Sunday a new Davis Cup Champion will be crowned.

Argentina, who pulled off a solid defeat of Russia in the semis, has home-court advantage and will face Spain, a team which is ostensibly missing one very important member -- Rafael Nadal, who injured his knee in Paris, will be watching the matches from Mallorca.

The two nations have met twice before in Davis Cup history, at the 2003 semifinals and -- get this -- the 1926 quarters. Spain won both times.

With Nadal's absence, however, this year's field is more even than it might otherwise have been.

Playing for Argentina are ATP Masters Cup Qualifier Juan Martin Del Potro and former world #3, David Nalbandian. They're joined by Jose Acasuso and Agustin Calleri. On the other side of the court are David Ferrer, who's slid from #4 to #12 since just August, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez and Nadal's replacement, 22-year-old Marcel Granollers. Never heard of him? Me either -- he hasn't gotten past the second round in a Tier I tournament all year.



And so the Davis Cup title, which could have been a slam dunk for Spain, is now truly up for grabs, and stats on both teams indicate this could be a battle.



Del Potro has had an outstanding year, rising from a low of #81 to a spot at the ATP Masters Cup Championships. Nalbandian has struggled a bit, falling out of the top ten, but still occupies a sound spot at #11. Spain's best two competitors, Ferrer and Verdasco are also contenders, both in the top fifteen. Granollers is really the wild card for them, I'd say, and this could be his big chance to make a name for himself on the world stage.

It might not be the final we were hoping for -- wouldn't it be great to see the Swiss duo of Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka back up their Olympic Gold or Serbians like Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic repeat their success in Shanghai? And what about France, which has two players in the top ten for the first time in how many years?

Even still I'm putting my money on Argentina in a tight 3-2 race -- though I'd be more than happy to see a different outcome.

As I said before, ¡viva España!

Sidebar -- Davis Cup Update

As I feared, today Spain's Davis Cup team ended the U.S.'s hopes of winning their second team championship in a row.

Earlier this morning Rafael Nadal beat Andy Roddick in three sets to put his team up an insurmountable 3-1. It was basically inevitable -- when was the last time Rafa lost on red clay? (The Spanish eventually won all four singles matches to trounce the U.S. 4-1.)



Spain goes on to battle the winner of the Russia-Argentina series in November. Since my first choice won't be playing in the finals, in the name of good sportsmanship, I hope Spain follows through to win their third Davis Cup title. (I mean, c'mon -- look how happy they are for each other! That's what I mean by camaraderie!)

Congratulations to all, and ¡Viva España!