The Davis Cup still has one more round left – the final in late November – as Argentina shoots for its first-ever championship against Croatia. Once again, we won’t see the Americans competing in the final, although that’s no longer a huge surprise. While the country used to dominate when the Davis Cup first began (they still hold the most wins and runners-up finishes), they haven’t made it to the final in 10 years. With that aside, what have we learned from the first three rounds? Plenty.
The Americans Are Really Regretting Their Collapse
There was a moment when the United States appeared to be on their way to the Davis Cup semifinals. Playing at home in Portland, Oregon – a long way away from Croatia – the Americans took a 2-0 lead after the first singles rubbers. With the Bryan Brothers waiting in the doubles match, the United States expected to win. However, the Bryans couldn’t close it down. Nevertheless, the Americans were still supposed to win in singles on Sunday – not John Isner against Marin Cilic, but Jack Sock was supposed to take care of teenager Borna Coric. Yet, after Cilic won to create a 2-2 tie, Coric upset Sock to lift Croatia to the semifinals. That was Croatia’s great escape, and in the semifinals, Croatia played like a team which had renewed confidence. Cilic and Ivan Dodig won their doubles match again, beating the top-ranked French doubles team of Pierre Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut en route to a 3-1 win (with the fifth rubber being a dead rubber).
Croatia’s escape against the United States is what brought them to the final.
It’s Very Hard To Sustain Success In This Event From Year To Year
The ability to win in Davis Cup requires a blend of quality and rest and luck and health. Consider what’s happening with Croatia. Marin Cilic is a quality player, but he’s not as good as the top five players in the world. He’s definitely a cut below, not above, those other guys named Djokovic, Murray, Federer, Nadal, and Wawrinka. He doesn’t play the semifinals or finals of the big tournaments – not usually. Cilic had more time after the U.S. Open to gather himself and rest up for Davis Cup. Players who go deeper into the tournament face a tougher physical challenge, and some of them – whether injured or not – choose not to play Davis Cup to focus on tournaments which bear prize money. Teams have to have good players, but they also need those players to be healthy, rested and willing to participate. Switzerland had Federer and Wawrinka in 2014, but the Swiss haven’t both played in a Davis Cup tie since then. It’s hard to carry one year’s title to the next year.
Argentina’s Depth Overcame Its Coaching
The captain for the Argentine Davis Cup team put Juan Martin del Potro in doubles in the semifinals, even though he had played a very long singles match. Delpo seemed to be a natural candidate to rest from the doubles and then play the singles. There seemed to be no sense to the captain’s decision to schedule Delpo in such a manner. Yet, Guido Pella (first singles) and Leonardo Mayer (reverse singles) both joined Delpo as singles winners, giving Argentina the three points it needed. British players Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans lost to Pella and Mayer, and they have to feel very disappointed.
Del Potro-Murray Is One Of The Best Rivalries Of 2016
The Del Potro-Murray clash was enthralling at the Olympics, as Murray won a battle which took roughly four hours.
In Davis Cup, Delpo gained revenge in a five-set match which took five hours and seven minutes. The reality of seeing two players play two matches in a span of under six months – with those two matches averaging about 4.5 hours in length – is very rare and thrilling. Murray has Olympic gold, while Delpo has one of the most satisfying wins of his injury-ravaged career. Del Potro will now try to win his first Davis Cup, one year after Murray won his first. This was one of the best rivalries in tennis this year, not just at the Davis Cup.
