Across The Net: Davis Cup – Russia over Argentina

Posted by Dan Martin on 12.04.2006

Russia Holds Off Argentina for its Second Davis Cup Title. Thus, concludes the 2006 Tennis Season.

Professional tennis' season stretches from early January through the first week of December. So much for those "tough guy" baseball players playing 182 games, tennis affords its players an entire month to 6 weeks for an off season.

At any rate, Davis Cup is an international sports competition that dates back to 1900. Being a part of a winning team is often the highlight of many players' careers. Carlos Moya won the 1998 French Open and helped Spain win the 2004 Davis Cup. Since 2004, Moya has had some nice moments, but in many ways those two events will bookend his career. Rafael Nadal launched his career as an elite player at that same final when he defeated then world #2 Andy Roddick en route to Spain's title.

This past weekend, Russia defeated Argentina 3-2. Marat Safin lost his opening singles match to David Nalbandian in straight sets, but followed that up by helping Russia win the doubles point. World #3 Nikolay Davydenko won his opening singles match. Russia led 2-1 heading into the final day. Nalbandian beat Davydenko to level the Davis Cup tie at 2-2. Marat Safin played hero by holding off Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

Safin, who has held the world #1 ranking, won two Grand Slam titles, been part of two Davis Cup championships and been runner-up at two other Grand Slams, looks like he may have gathered momentum headed into 2007. Safin is one of two current players I can think of who is not intimidated by Roger Federer (the other being Rafael Nadal). Consistency has never been Safin's strongest point as a player. However, Marat has been very tough at the Australian Open winning the title in 2005 and finishing as runner-up in 2002 and 2004. Safin might be able to take the momentum of closing out Argentina into 2007's first major title.

David Nalbandian has to feel good about winning two singles matches at Russia. He too has tended to play well in Melbourne, Australia. One can pencil Nalbandian in as a player with good form heading into 2007.

Nikolay Davydenko admitted to being mentally tight in trying to close Argentina out. His record has been strong down under, but he will need to show better nerve if he is to contend for the title next month.

Dmitry Tursunov had a solid 2006 finishing ranked #22 in the world. His doubles win with Safin might propel him to bigger things in 2006.

Where does Davis Cup lie in the popular sports imagination?

In the United States, Davis Cup is pretty much off of the radar screen. Other nations seem to hold Davis Cup in much higher esteem. However, as my friend in Paris has asked, should Davis Cup even exist anymore?

Consider that Russia's Marat Safin resides in Monaco for tax purposes. Dmitry Tursunov resides in California. Nikolay Davydenko resides in Monaco (pro-tennis players and taxes seem to mix like oil and water). Mikhail Youzhny never played this past weekend, but he resides in Moscow.

On the other hand, Argentina's David Nalbandian, Juan Chela and Jose Acasuso all reside in Argentina. So perhaps some teams are more representative of their given nation. My thought is that Davis Cup allows for singles and doubles to be mixed in an interesting way. Also, tennis is largely an individual sport so team competitions are interesting as well. Finally, Davis Cup seems to help players make a step up in the caliber of wins they can achieve outside of the team environment. Nadal won the French Open roughly six months after helping Spain to the Davis Cup title in 2004. Mario Ancic reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and was ranked #9 in 2006 after helping Croatia take the 2005 Davis Cup title. Tennis is a sport that needs to produce new elite players due to the relatively brief shelf-life of a player's prime. If Davis Cup helps generate confidence that generates big match players, then it should remain on the calendar.

Some have called for Davis Cup to become a two week event with a single host country similar to the World Cup. Others have argued it should be held every two years like golf's Ryder Cup. While reforming Davis Cup is something tennis should be open to, I think Davis Cup need not be dismantled. Holding the event every two years would likely kill its appeal. If Davis Cup is going to have a host nation, it will need to be a country that supports tennis. I cannot imagine the U.S. seriously supporting the event if the U.S. team were eliminated. So, the reforms need to be thought through prior to being implemented.