I think that anything done in tennis after Russia was suspended will always have an asterisk. As Mick and others have shown us Wimbledon this year affected stats in very unusual ways.
That said it's not unusual for a country to send its "B" team, scrape through and then have its "A" team wipe the floor with opponents when it matters. This situation with Canada could've been avoided if tennis was a more unified body with a Commissioner and had adopted a policy that affected the entire sport, ITF events included. Since that is not the situation people will be arguing about this until the cows come home.
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
But in this case, Canada was eliminated, and only got back in because Russia was removed.
This is like a 'Lucky Loser' winning a tournament (has that ever happened?) - but this is Davis Cup. Things like this aren't supposed to happen in Davis Cup.
Or, at least things like this weren't supposed to happen before the powers that be decided to make every effort possible to destroy Davis Cup...
R.I.P. Amal...
“The opposite of courage is not cowardice - it’s conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”- Jim Hightower
Fish seems on his way out as US captain. Good..you can't let a player veto a #1 player, which is what seems to have happened ...I gather Jack Sock didn't want Ram on the team..but it is the captain's call, he should be held responsible.
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 9:33 am
Fish seems on his way out as US captain. Good..you can't let a player veto a #1 player, which is what seems to have happened ...I gather Jack Sock didn't want Ram on the team..but it is the captain's call, he should be held responsible.
Have you seen any reason as to why Sock wouldn't want Ram, top player in doubles, on the team?
“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 14, 2022 9:33 am
Fish seems on his way out as US captain. Good..you can't let a player veto a #1 player, which is what seems to have happened ...I gather Jack Sock didn't want Ram on the team..but it is the captain's call, he should be held responsible.
Have you seen any reason as to why Sock wouldn't want Ram, top player in doubles, on the team?
If I were deciding on the next U.S. Davis Cup captain, I'd tell Michael Russell that the job is his if he wants it. He's been coaching Taylor Fritz in recent years.
No-one tried harder than Russell on the court. Though he didn't have as much talent (or size) as others, he made the most of the talent he had. He was a little bulldog - usually ranked somewhere between 50 and 100, but one always noticed him because he ran every ball down and left his heart on the court every time.
He was always very down to Earth as a player, too - one of the very few players who always made sure to be nice to and to thank the ball kids (I commended him for this, and he replied "Too many players treat the ball kids like crap - I won't mention any names - like Andy Roddick - but I just want to let them know they're appreciated").
I think he'd be a very good Davis Cup Captain - if he wants the job.
R.I.P. Amal...
“The opposite of courage is not cowardice - it’s conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”- Jim Hightower
This year, for the first time since 2013, top level tennis returned to my (nearly) home town of Groningen in the form of the Davis Cup qualifier versus Slovakia. Why they don't play all Dutch Davis Cup matches here is a mystery to me; it's one of THE student towns in the Netherlands and a local group of them even travel to (almost?) all their matches, both at home and away. With it being IN Groningen, the place (Martiniplaza, seats 3.500) was almost sold out and the atmosphere was fantastic today, especially during the Tim van Rijthoven vs. Molcan match.
For those of you who can't exactly remember where they know Van Rijthoven from: he won the Rosmalen grasscourt tournament last year, beating Medvedev, Auger-Aliassime and Fritz in the process. Since then, that success had seen no follow-up and after they had to bench Van de Zanschulp (still recovering from injury) captain Haarhuis selected Tim. That choice (easily) delivered the most entertaining of the two matches of today and in typical DC circumstances, the crowd carried van Rijthoven to victory. Flanked by two enthousiastic, talkative grannies (not mine) I struggled to remember a match with a better atmosphere. The third set was like the final of a major tournament. Gotta love DC home crowds
Last edited by Oploskoffie on Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Enthusiastic - and sometimes even over-the-top - Davis Cup home crowds were a unique trademark of Davis Cup.
Sadly, that doesn't happen as much anymore, because the powers that be are desperately trying to kill Davis Cup (and replace it with newfangled gimmicks).
R.I.P. Amal...
“The opposite of courage is not cowardice - it’s conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow.”- Jim Hightower
The upcoming BJK has Poland and Kazakhstan on clay! Swiatek vs Rybakina, indoor clay.
I saw a sarcastic comment by Keothevong about Raducanu - that isnt how a captain needs to behave.. it should not be an ego issue for her - she doesnt seem to have bothered to call up Emma Raducanu and ask her to play.. that is your job, not to put out clever tweets!
ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:11 am
The upcoming BJK has Poland and Kazakhstan on clay! Swiatek vs Rybakina, indoor clay.
I saw a sarcastic comment by Keothevong about Raducanu - that isnt how a captain needs to behave.. it should not be an ego issue for her - she doesnt seem to have bothered to call up Emma Raducanu and ask her to play.. that is your job, not to put out clever tweets!
Here's a more detailed explanation of the situation, which includes needed context:
(I found various sources of this story, but this was the only one without any flagrant spelling errors...)
Translation
