Davis Cup 1st Round Recap

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

We just had the first round of the Davis Cup. So, what happened? Well, we had eight ties played and the majority were concluded with the doubles, with only a couple going to a fifth. It was an exciting week. Federer surprised everyone by turning up before helping to dismiss the second seeded Serbs, and the Czechs cruised. There were a lot of seeds who went out. Only the top seeded Czechs, fifth seeded Frenchies and eighth seeded Kazahks remain in the hunt.

Davis Cup has its own rankings with the previous year's finalists always being the top seeds. Also, they work out home court based on where that tie was last played. So Great Britain face Italy in Italy because it was played in Britain last. I promise you that tie will be played on clay. Heavy clay.

Right, time to go over what exactly happened. Starting with the top seeds and working my way down.



CZE D. NED:
Despite a Netherlands opening win, Haase winning in five over Stepanek, the Czechs won three in a row before fielding Rosol for the 3-2 victory. Stepanek lost in five, surprisingly 3-6. 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1. Berdych righted the ship by thrashing Sijsling for the loss of just six games to even it up. Then Berdnek came through against Haase and talented doubles player Rojer 7-5, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6. After that, Berdie cantered past De Bakker for the victory. It was a dominating Czech performance in the end and Berdnek proved once again that they are more than enough to keep winning. Although top seeded, the Czechs know that there are tougher opponents lying in wait in the draw like France and Switzerland, not to mention Kazahkstan who are always dangerous.
Up next is an away tie to Japan. I don't think any surface will give the Japanese an advantage. I think the Czechs will win that unless Kei can somehow upset Berdych. I suggest either slow hard courts or clay courts.
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JAP D. CAN:
And, speaking of Japan, they came through with a 4-1 win over the undermanned Canucks. With Pospisil and Raonic absent, Japan knew they had a big chance here for the upsets. And seventh seeded Canada started off badly with Polansky losing to Nishikori in three. Dancevic did beat Soeda but he and Nestor were unable to win the doubles, going down in four (Nestor is a slam champ in doubles, as well as a former number one). Neither he nor Nestor performed well this week. With a 2-1 lead, all Nishikori needed to do was clean up. And he did so. He won the tie on a retirement, a sad end to the tie which always had a sense of inevitability to it. Dancevic retired and afterwards, Soeda overcame Polansky to cap off a disappointing tie for the Maple lovers. Up next: the Czechs in their own backyard.
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GER D. ESP:
Third seeded Spain up next. Only France can match their depth. However, no Almagro, no Ferrer and no Nadal this time. Lopez led the tie with Verdasco and Agut. The Germans sensed blood in the water. The Germans cleverly played this on indoor hard. It proved to be the difference. Kohl put Agut to the sword, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. Mayer beat Lopez 7-6, 7-6, 1-6, 5-7 and 6-3 to advance. And Haas/Kohl won the doubles in three tight sets to advance. Kohl didn't play his last rubber, but Brands was too strong for Agut and a 4-1 victory summed it up. The Germans also have good strength in depth, though it may be worrying that their lead man was born when flares were popular and Blondie weren't yet internationally known. They next play in France but there isn't really a surface the French can choose that will give them a big advantage. Perhaps a very quick outdoor hard court may suit them best.
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FRA D. AUS:
Who did France beat? Australia 5-0. France have the most strength in depth now left in the competition. They also provided me with my favourite moment of the week. This image sums up the Davis cup. It made me smile.



Gasquet defeated Kyrgios in three, taking control after a tight opening set. Tsonga was too good for Hewitt, winning in straights, too. In the doubles, Tsonquet beat Guccione and Hewitt in four tight sets to come through the tie relatively unscathed. Their celebration afterwards was priceless. I'm not surprised Tsonga did the lifting, had Gasquet tried to do the same the result would have been hilarious. Gasquet has won titles indoors, outdoors, on clay, on hard and on grass. Tsonga has been to slam semis on three different surfaces. Together, they have been to the semis of all four slams and the finals of three different 1000 tournaments. They should beat the Germans.
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GBR D. USA:
This was the upset of the week. There is no way GBR should have won this. Murray wins two, Querrey wins one, Young beats Ward and the Bryans win. But, Querrey choked and lost 1-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Ward. The Yanks were hurt by the withdrawal of Isner. Murray thrashed Young and with that Ward win, they led 2-0. Despite the Bryans winning in four as predicted, Murray was too good for Querrey despite being outplayed for two sets. Murray proved the difference here again. He seems to be intent on dragging his team through the Davis Cup. Up next for them are the Italians in Italy. So, the Brits will be playing on clay once more. Can they win? I don't think so, not if the Italians are healthy.
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ITA D. ARG:
Fognini was the MVP in this win. He was the conductor, the Tom Brady, the Pete Carroll. Seppi lost to Berlocq in four surprisingly. Despite winning the first set, he won just three more games after that. Fognini dismissed Monaco, before guiding Italy to a 2-1 lead with the help of Bolelli. He then edged Berlocq in four tight sets to come through. He is now the world number fifteen, which may surprise people. But, he has earned that, he plays amazing tennis and, perhaps most importantly, he is rather dashing, if not outright handsome. Italy should beat the British, especially if they come in with this same team.
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KAZ D. BEL:
In every DC first round, there is usually a match-up that looks like it belongs in the first round. Eighth seeded Kazahkstan playing Belgium in Kazhkstan was that match. The Kazahks led initially. Kukushkin won in four against Bemelmans to open with. Then Golubev came back from two sets to one down, to win 12-10 in the fifth against Goffin, now ranked 108. But Bemelamns and Rochus were too good in the doubles. With the tie delicately poised at 1-2, Goffin found himself down two sets to one in the fourth rubber. He won the next two sets for the loss of just four games to being it into a fifth. In that fifth rubber, Golubev dominated Bemelmans 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. No drama, just a clinical performance. They go to Switzerland next.
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SUI D. SER:
Federer and Wawrinka did their job. Zimonjic did not. The triple slam winner and former doubles number one was poor. When Federer is your number two, you have a good team. Federer beat Bozoljac easily to give the Suiss the perfect opening. Wawrinka struggled past Lajovic in four. He looked injured, though I think he is OK now. Somehow, Chuidinelli and Lammer beat Krajinovic and Zimonjic. With Fed and Vavsy opting out, the Serbs at least made it look close. Switzerland should play their next tie on grass. They will easily beat the Kazahks on that surface.
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*PARIS, FRA*
=SF=
Gasquet [1] d. [7] Roger-Vasselin
Simon [2] d. [5] Monfils
=FINAL=
Gasquet [1] d. [2] Simon

...Gasquet is the heavy favourite here and he has had decent form this year, despite a weird loss to Robredo at the Aussie.

*ZAGREB, CRO*
=SF=
Haas [1] d. [3] Kohlschreiber
Cilic [5] d. [2] Youzhny
=FINAL=
Haas [1] d. [5] Cilic

...Cilic has won this thing three times, but I think he will run out of puff in the finals.

VINA DEL MAR, CHI
=SF=
Fognini [1] d. [3] Almagro
Robredo [2] d. [7] Garcia-Lopez
=FINAL=
Fognini [1] d. [2] Robredo

...we haven't seen Almags a lot this year. The clay swing is here though and that means we will be seeing a lot of him now.

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