Davis Cup Final Preview: Tensions Running High

A lot has been said about the little spat between Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka after their semifinal battle in London last weekend. But even as both players have put to rest rumors of any hard feelings that may have existed, there's plenty of pressure on everyone as we head into this weekend's Davis Cup championship tie. The Swiss are going for their first ever trophy while the homecourt-advantage French are looking for title #10, but their first since 2001. And we'll be treated to some banner match-ups from the start.

Wawrinka opens play Friday against former world #5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who declined an alternate spot to the World Tour Finals to focus on exactly this match. The Frenchman has a slight edge in their head-to-head, but every one of the pair's five meetings have gone the distance, including their two Roland Garros encounters which combined for ten sets, three tiebreaks and more than eight hours of play. Tsonga's been a little quiet since the U.S. Open and Wawrinka did somewhat redeem his late-season slump at the O2, but with these guys' history, I'd expect this to a be a battle too.

But the rubber everyone will be watching Friday will certainly be the rematch between Roger and Gael Monfils. Federer, you're remember, narrowly eked out a win over the big-time showman in New York, coming back from two sets and a break down in the quarterfinals before powering through for the win. LeMonf has only played a couple events since then, but he has conquered threats like Jerzy Janowicz and John Isner, so seems more than match ready. And Roger, despite a run to the final at the year-end championships, is still contending with the back injury that forced him out of the title match in London. It took a couple days before he was able to get back on court and, if he's not a hundred percent, Monfils is more than capable of exploiting any weakness.

Of course everything could get wrapped up by Saturday in the doubles rubber. Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet, both accomplished on the singles circuit themselves, will take on the much lesser-known Swiss team of Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer. But something tells me the matches on Day Two will both be crucial to this weekend's outcome. In the early rubber we'll get a rematch of the Toronto final in which Tsonga stunned Fed after already beating not one, not two, but three top ten players in a row. The pair have put on some classic displays in the past, and the Frenchman has walked away the winner on a couple big stages. He might still trail Roger in their overall history, but expect him to step up to the plate again when so much is on the line.

And the potential final rubber between Wawrinka and Monfils could be just as exciting. The two don't have a long history -- they've met every couple years, but not since 2011 and have split their four previous meetings. The Swiss might be the on-paper favorite in this one, but again he's notched some surprising losses in the final weeks of the regular season -- to Mikhael Kukushkin in Basel, Tatsumo Ito in Tokyo -- and could find himself a little vulnerable at the hands of his opponent. Gael may not have won a title since very early in the season, but he's got three top-ten wins on his résumé this year and might just be primed to add number four to that list.

The last couple Davis Cup championships have all gone down to the wire, and I wouldn't expect any less this weekend. With history on the line and so much talent on the courts, you know everyone's going to power through any obstacle they face. And whoever comes out the winner will have certainly earned their spoils.

Keeping Focus Amid the Storm

If the theme for the first part of the week at the U.S. Open was the blazing heat, then the theme for the this weekend is the pending arrival of a hurricane named Earl, who promises to wreak havoc on the play today.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but some of the late night matches are clearly at risk -- if not for cancellation, then certainly for suspensions and delays. And that might give players like Rafael Nadal and John Isner, Venus Williams and Flavia Pennetta a few fits as they try to wrap up their day.

Pennetta's will be the last match on the Grandstand this afternoon, and she takes on Shahar Peer in what could be a very close game. The two have only played on hardcourts, with Peer -- ranked slightly higher at #19 to the Italian's #21 -- battling to victory in their last meeting at Indian Wells. A few months ago I might have chosen Flavia to power through this match easily -- if only for revenge -- but a foot injury that forced her out of New Haven puts her prospects in question. We know the girl can handle disruption, though, as she famously survived a meltdown by Vera Zvonareva at last year's Open. If she can find the power that got her past Jie Zheng in Cincinnati and Daniela Hantuchova in Montreal, I like her chances to win here too.

Big-hitting American John Isner should start his second-round match with Marco Chiudinelli before the rain starts, but if their five-setter at Roland Garros is any indication, he might not close it out in one shot. Isner certainly knows how to handle delays in a match -- the winner of the three-day Wimbledon marathon was able to keep himself loose and focused even through multiple over-night breaks. More comfortable in front of the hometown crowd, he might have the advantage over the Swiss, and hopefully this time his efforts will not be stopped short immediately after the initial win.

Venus headlines the night session on Arthur Ashe tonight, taking on her second qualifier in a row in Luxembourg's Mandy Minella -- a twenty-four year old who ousted Venus's foil Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round. You have to hand it to an unknown that can make it through three matches before even seeing a main draw and then continue her streak. And though Venus should be able to handle her easily, the two-time U.S. Open winner will have to remain focused on returning a solid serve and keeping up with an agressive baseliner. Battling injury herself, you can expect Williams to make a statement early -- she doesn't want to face the prospects of interrupting any momentum she gains by aggravating her knee any more.

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal hopes to cap off the action Friday night on Ashe, but the coming rains are not his only obstacle. Uzbek Denis Istomin made the finals in New Haven last week with a win over a tough Viktor Troicki in the semis, and he took a set from Rafa back at Queen's Club. He had a solid win over Maximo Gonzalez in the first round of the Open and fired off six aces to his opponent's zero. Nadal, on the other hand, was pushed to two tiebreaks against a feisty Teimuraz Gabashvili Wednesday and might be less comfortable on the quick courts. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous about this match -- two years ago, Rafa was unable to come back during a rain-disrupted semi against Andy Murray and ended up losing the match over two days. Hopefully this year he'll be able to keep his cool and, if needed, return to the court even stronger.

It sure looks like we're in for a lot of stop-and-start play today, and that could surely play with the momentum and focus of even top players. But when the day is done, hopefully no one will be too bruised and battered, and we'll only see better play to come.