The Indian Panorama

Tag: Davis Cup

  • Cilic recovers to give Croatia Davis Cup edge

    Cilic recovers to give Croatia Davis Cup edge

    ZAGREB (TIP): Croatia’s Marin Cilic battled back from a mid-match collapse to beat Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 6-2 in the opening rubber of the Davis Cup final in Zagreb on Nov 26.

    Former US Open champion Cilic appeared to be cruising towards a routine victory at the Zagreb Arena only to lose his way after storming into a two-set lead over the world number 41.

    Sixth-ranked Cilic, who made his second appearance at the ATP Tour Finals last week, secured the first two sets with a single break in each, but Delbonis claimed the third before racing through the fourth to force a decider.

    Backed by an impassioned crowd Cilic regained his nerve in the final set, breaking his opponent in the first game and building on that momentum to eventually close out victory in three hours and 30 minutes.

    Later, 2009 US Open champion and Olympic silver medallist Juan Martin del Potro takes on 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic in the second singles match.

    Del Potro, 28, is a veteran of two losing finals — both against Spain in 2008 and 2011 — while Karlovic is the oldest player to feature in a Davis Cup singles match since 43-year-old Australian NormanBrookes in 1920.

    Four-time runners-up Argentina are chasing a first title, while Croatia are looking to emulate their 2005 triumph over Slovakia.

    (AFP)

  • Djokovic says restructuring Davis Cup is ‘no brainer’

    Djokovic says restructuring Davis Cup is ‘no brainer’

    LONDON (TIP): Novak Djokovic says changing the format of the Davis Cup is a “no brainer” and has repeated his plea to the International Tennis Federation to make structural changes to the team event.

    “This format is not working for the top players… because it’s just completely at the wrong time in the schedule,” world number two Djokovic told reporters at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday. “If you go back … five, six years, you see the amount of the top players that played at the later stages of the Davis Cup (has gone down), you see that it lost value.”

    Currently the Davis Cup is run throughout the year with the World Group first round immediately after the Australian Open, the quarter-finals on the back of Wimbledon and the semi-finals hot on the heels of the US Open.

    Even the final is the week after the Tour Finals, posing a dilemma for a player involved in both.

    Djokovic led Serbia to the title in 2010 but has played two ties in the last two years, the same as Spain’s Rafael Nadal.

    Roger Federer, nursing a back injury, pulled out of playing in the title match of the 2014 Tour Finals just a week before helping Switzerland to win the team competition in 2014. However, his Davis Cup participation before and after 2014 has been sporadic. Britain’s Andy Murray is the exception amongst the big guns, shouldering an enormous burden for his country in recent years, including winning the trophy almost single handedly last year in Belgium.

    Djokovic said the format should be streamlined.

    “Of course, they have to change,” he said. “The only way to work, is once a year, (dedicate) one or two weeks, have a round-robin format, four, five, six groups, have teams play in different locations, then come together in one location and play a knockout stage, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final four, whatever. It’s a no-brainer. “I think they should cut it down to two days, best-of-three. Have two singles and one doubles, those kind of things.” ITF president David Haggerty has voiced his support for a change to the organisation’s blue riband team event, pitching the idea of a “final-four” showdown at a neutral venue.

  • Remaining mentally strong is key against Djokovic: Wawrinka

    Remaining mentally strong is key against Djokovic: Wawrinka

    CHENNAI (TIP): Stanislas Wawrinka eked out the “biggest win” of his career when he downed Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2015 French Open and the Swiss champions says staying mentally strong is always key against the Serbian giant.

    Looking back at that final in which he struck 59 winners, almost twice as many as Djokovic, the Swiss player still relishes the win.

    “For sure winning Roland Garros was my biggest win. Novak is an unbelievable player, he has played so strong during the whole year and deserves to be number 1. Beating him in the final meant a lot to me, it made me very proud. I played amazing tennis on that day and managed to find a solution against him,” Wawrinka, who will open his 2016 season at Chennai Open next week, said.

    “I’ve played several tough matches against Novak in Grand Slams recently. I know that I have my chance if I play my very best tennis. I’ve beaten him before and you have to remain mentally strong when you face him and especially in such an important match,” Wawrinka said.

    The Swiss world number four is a two-time defending champion at Chennai Open and he was eyeing a hat-trick of titles.

    “I’ve always enjoyed coming to Chennai. The tournament is a nice way to start the season, the fans are great and I like the atmosphere in the stadium. Of course I would love to defend my title, but I will have to go match by match,” he said.

    Talking about his coach Magnus Norman, Wawrinka said, “I really enjoy his vision of the game; the way he communicates. He’s very natural and he was a great player himself so he knows how it feels to step on a crowded center court or to be in a Grand Slam final.”

    “I saw how he worked with Robin Soderling and had a feeling that he could be the right coach for me. He’s also great working with the other members of my team like my fitness coach Pierre Paganini or Severin Luthi, our Davis Cup captain who has been helping me a lot as well.”

    Reviewing the year behind, and looking into the start of yet another season on the tour, Wawrinka said, “I want to continue to do well, win tournaments and go deep at the Slams. And hopefully I get a great start into the season in Chennai again.”

    “I’m somebody who really likes to work hard. I like to get up early in the morning and enjoy practising a lot. That helps me a lot, because a tennis career is very much about working hard and enjoying what you do.”

    (PTI)

  • Heat, humidity will play a huge role: Leander Paes

    Heat, humidity will play a huge role: Leander Paes

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Having clinched his 17th Grand Slam title by winning the US Open mixed doubles title with his Swiss partner Martina Hingis last week, Leander Paes flew in from Mumbai and walked into the battle zone here on Wednesday evening to join his team members who are getting ready to take on the three-time champions, the Czech Republic, in the Davis Cup World Group playoff tie.

    A celebrated veteran on the Davis Cup circuit, Leander got into his groove straight away, hitting with Rohan Bopanna for almost an hour.

    The 42-year-old is confident that the home conditions will help but admitted that the team with physical and mental strength will have an edge. “Of course, we have a good chance to beat them. In sports the margins are very small… between winning and losing the margin can be one good shot. The heat, humidity and slow surfaces are definitely going to benefit the team that is more prepared mentally and physically,” Leander, who has been part of Indian squad for 25 years, said.

    “Physical fitness will be a huge factor in this tie. It’s eight in the evening now and it is so humid. If you come out at noon for a best-of-five set match in Delhi heat, the physicality of this tie will be phenomenal. The court is playing really slow even though the ball is jumping,” he added.

    “In these conditions, the preparation of past six months is going to matter. The rallies are going to be long and whoever controls the first set and wins it, will do well,” he pointed out.

    Talking about the tie, Leander said the three-time champions will put up a tough fight even though the team is playing without world No. 5 Tomas Berdych.

    “The quality of tennis goes up when you come into the World Group playoff. They are a strong team even without Tomas Berdych. For them to come here and handle these conditions is something they are used to doing. They perform at a very high level every single day and play about 35-40 weeks on the tour every year. I expect the Czech boys to be very tough. The task for us, the underdogs, is to put the best foot forward,” he added.

    It has been a phenomenal year for the Indian who with Hingis became the first pair since 1969 to win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in the same season.

    Leander’s decision to be available for this tie has pushed Saketh Myneni to the reserves. Leander, however, defended his decision of playing only home ties saying he wanted youngsters to step up.

    “Davis Cup is something very important to me. It is not like I am not prepared to put myself forward for the team. It is a conscious decision that I have made. In the last few years, I have let the youngsters play in the Asian zone,” he said. “I am 42 and if I keep playing all the ties that we should win comfortably, then I can play for the next five to seven years. It’s about nurturing the youngsters. As they get better and better, improve their ranking, they can oust me from my job,” he added.

  • Yuki brings India back after Somdev’s surprise defeat

    Yuki brings India back after Somdev’s surprise defeat

    CHRISTCHURCH (TIP): Yuki Bhambri rescued India with an impressive win after Somdev Devvarman’s shock defeat, leaving the visitors locked 1-1 with New Zealand on day one of the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I tie on July 17.

    Michael Venus, ranked as low as 548 in the singles, turned the tables on Somdev, who lost the opening singles 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 1-6 after three hours and 43 minutes.

    The fortunes changed dramatically for India as Somdev, who came into the tie after winning a Challenger title in USA, was firmly in control before losing his way.

    Egged on by the home crowd, Venus recovered amazingly after losing the first two sets and outsmarted 148th ranked Somdev to surprise the visiting camp.

    The onus to bring India back was now on Yuki, who did not disappoint the Indian camp as he raced to a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 win over Jose Statham in the second singles.

    In the opening set, Yuki broke Statham, ranked 345th, in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead and consolidated his position with an easy hold in the next.

    The Indian youngster, ranked 151st, was on top of his game as he broke Statham for the second time in the seventh game and served out the set in the second.

    An early break put Yuki in the driver’s seat. Statham held serve in third game but dropped again in the fifth to hand the 23-year-old Delhi boy a 4-1 cushion.

    Yuki had tightened his grip over the match and it was a matter of time before he served out the second too.

    Statham raised his game a bit, putting up some fight against Yuki as the first five games went on serve. However, Yuki yet again found a way to get a break and created a lead of 4-2, following a break in the sixth game.

    Yuki held his serve in the next and at 2-5, Statham was serving to stay in the set.

    The Kiwi player managed to hold in the eighth but could not stop Yuki from serving out the match in the next.

    The winner of the tie will qualify for the World Group Play-offs to be held in September.

  • No one can question my patriotism, Leander Paes says

    No one can question my patriotism, Leander Paes says

    NEW DELHI (TIP): A day after sports ministry made it clear that athletes who remain unavailable for national duty would not get financial aid from it, top tennis star Leander Paes said his commitment should not be questioned since he has given his all in the last 24 years while playing for India. Ministry had not named any athlete but it was clear that the reference was to tennis players who skipped the Incheon Asian Games to play on ATP tour to salvage their rankings.

    Paes said he was not aware of the whole story so he cannot comment much but his patriotism is beyond doubt. “I have not heard about it so it’s not right for me to comment. But I have played six Olympics and I don’t have to say more about my commitment,” Paes told Times Now. “It’s very clear to see, I love playing for the flag and the people. When I play at Grand Slams, I play for India, for flag and for people,” the 41-year-old player said. Paes, who has been a hero of India’s many memorable Davis Cup victories, said “At the end of the day, I have to do my job and earn my living and I am focussed on my job, winning more Grand Slams.

    I have done my bit in the last 24 years not just for myself but also for the people,” he said. Asked if the ministry has been unfair to him by questioning his commitment, Paes said, “I have not heard (ministry’s version) and I don’t want to comment. I have tremendous respect for the Sports Minister. My job is to play hard and I will continue to do so. A lot goes into winning Grand Slams and Davis Cup.” Paes also clarified that he has not received any financial aid from the government since 2012 London Olympics. He concluded by saying that playing for the country was a “great joy for an athlete”.AITA had backed the tennis players, saying their commitment should not be questioned.

  • Bopanna to get Davis Cup Commitment Award

    Bopanna to get Davis Cup Commitment Award

    BANGALORE (TIP): Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna will be presented the Davis Cup Commitment Award during the World Group play-off tie against Serbia which begins here tomorrow. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will present the Awards through its national associations during the Davis Cup World Group and Zone Group matches on Saturday.

    Former Grand Slam champions Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil will also be awarded after their respective games. “The Davis Cup Commitment Award reflects the dedication by players for more than a century to represent their country in this prestigious competition.

    These players have continued to rise to the unique challenge of competing in a team environment in front of their home fans, and we believe that it is fitting to recognise their efforts,” said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti.

    List of players to be awarded: Australia: Lleyton Hewitt, Brazil: Carlos Kirmayr, Gustavo Kuerten, Luiz Mattar, Cassio Motta, Jaime Oncins, Canada: Frank Dancevic, Chinese Taipei: Ti Chen, France: Pierre Darmon, India: Rohan Bopanna Romania: Victor Hanescu, Russia: Andrei Chesnokov, Andrei Olhovskiy, Thailand: Sanchai Ratiwatana, Sonchat Ratiwatana, Danai Udomchoke, Ukraine: Sergiy Stakhovsky.

  • Federer returns to Davis Cup action this week

    Federer returns to Davis Cup action this week

    NOVI SAD (TIP): Roger Federer will return to the Davis Cup this week in Switzerland’s first-round match in Serbia. The Swiss tennis federation confirmed Federer’s participation Wednesday after it was first announced on the tournament’s official Twitter account.

    Federer teams up with new Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka, now the Swiss No. 1, against a Serbian side missing second-ranked Novak Djokovic. The winner plays Belgium or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals in April. Federer has played only one first-round match since 2004. He last represented Switzerland in September 2012, helping win a relegation playoff against the Netherlands.

    Serbia, the 2010 champion, is hosting the match without any top-100 players after Djokovic pulled out. Dujan Lajovic at No. 102 is the highest ranked team member. The series opens Friday on indoor hardcourt at Novi Sad.

  • Nadal to return to Buenos Aires event after nine years

    Nadal to return to Buenos Aires event after nine years

    BUENOS AIRES (TIP): World number one Rafael Nadal will play in the Buenos Aires ATP tournament in February for the first time since 2005, the Spaniard said on December 3. The tournament to be held at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club from February 10 to 16 is part of the Latin American swing of claycourt events which also includes tournaments in Chile, Brazil and Mexico. “After a time when I was unable to go, this year I’m going to return to the Buenos Aires tournament and I’m excited to play the Copa Claro again,” Nadal said in a video shown at a news conference. Nadal lost to Argentine Gaston Gaudio, the 2004 French Open champion, in the quarterfinal of the 2005 Buenos Aires tournament at the start of a glittering career that has included 13 Grand Slam titles, eight at Roland Garros.

    “We’re very happy to have Rafa, to have a world number one playing for the points in Argentina,” said tournament director Martin Jaite, who is also his country’s Davis Cup captain. Nadal made his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Vina del Mar tournament in Chile last February, launching a comeback that took him back to the top of the rankings last month. He was in Argentina last month for exhibition matches against world number two Novak Djokovic and retired Argentine former number three David Nalbandian’s farewell to tennis. Buenos Aires champion David Ferrer will not be defending his title.

  • WE GAVE IT EVERYTHING Leander Paes after US open loss

    WE GAVE IT EVERYTHING Leander Paes after US open loss

    NEW YORK (TIP): He missed out on a third US Open men’s doubles title but Indian tennis star Leander Paes was far from dejected as he insisted that he and his Czech partner Radek Stepanek gave all that they had in the final clash against champions Mike and Bob Bryan.

    Fifth seeds Paes and Stepanek lost 6-3 6-4 to the second-seeded Bryan brothers in the summit clash Friday night. Paes was equally complimentary of both his partner and his opponent. “Even though we got beaten today by one of the greatest teams of all time, my team and Radek’s team came out and brought everything they had to this tournament,” Paes said.

    “I can guarantee you we will be giving it everything we have every single day for the rest of the year,” he added. Paes felt the Bryans produced a magical performance to clinch the title. “These guys always bring magic to the court,” said 39-year-old. “But we put it on the line today and we will come back and keep doing it.

    ” Paes has won two US Open men’s doubles title in 2006 (with Martin Damm) and 2009 (with Lukas Dlouhy), as well as a mixed doubles title in 2008 (with Cara Black). The win was a measure of revenge for the Bryans who lost to Paes-Stepanek in the finals of the Australian Open earlier this year. “I think they started really well,” Stepanek said.

    “They were all over our serve from the beginning and making life very difficult for us out there. They were the better team today, so they deserve the win.” The Bryan brothers won their previous US Open titles together in 2005, 2008 and 2010. In addition, Bob has won four US Open mixed doubles title while Mike has one to his name. The brothers will now head to Spain with the rest of the US Davis Cup team to do battle next weekend against David Ferrer and the rest of the Spanish Cup team in a semifinal tie.