Russia looks good for France rematch
Russia defeated the Netherlands 5-0 in the first round of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas to set up a quarterfinal in and against France. Both singles rubbers on Sunday were dead, so Dutch coach Tjerk Bogtstra decided to give youngster Jesse Huta-Galung his debut in the Davis Cup.
Impressive debut for Huta-Galung
For what it's worth – could his opponent Igor Andreev be seen yawning, sometimes, as if after a night out?
– tall Huta-Galung showed some impressive aggressive play. Serving hard and hitting hard on both forehand and backhand, he forced Andreev into a three-set match before losing 63 46 76(7).
The third set went to a tiebreak and Huta-Galung, showman-like orchestrating the crowd, got two match points at 6-4 but wasted both, the second with a volley sitter. The Dutchman missed a third match point at 7-6 only to see Andreev convert his first when Huta-Galung hit a forehand that was to some controversy called long.
“I'm disappointed at losing. But that was just a minor blip on a great week for me with the Davis Cup team,” Huta-Galung said. 'It was like a fairytale. I've never played in front of so many people.”
So that made it 4-0 to the Russians. Melle van Gemerden, who had lost Friday's second rubber to Nikolay Davydenko, had to play Dmitry Tursunov to save Dutch honour. Tursunov went for all his shots at full power, and with van Gemerden not holding back either, the players gave a master class in clean winners and unforced errors. Tursunov was ultimately better, winning 76(4) 76(5).
Solid Russia looks good for title
This tie made it clear that the Russians will make a strong bid for this year's Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title. Marat Safin ;D ;D is one of his generation's most gifted players and is set to return to the tennis tour in the next few weeks. Davydenko, meanwhile, is a Top Ten player and through his solid play and quick movement he should rarely lose to lower-ranked players.
Then there are three more Top 50 players from Russia. So perhaps that's why the Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev didn't really care who Russia would face in the quarterfinal round. He said he’d rather have played at home, which would have been the case in April had Germany beaten France. “But now that they didn't, we have to go to France. Oh well.” But who wouldn't be relaxed with Safin and Davydenko on the team?
Mikhail Youzhny had to smile when he heard France would be Russia's opponent in the quarterfinals. “I have good memories,” he said. “The last two times we played them we beat them 3-2 in the fifth rubber, and the first one was when we won the tournament.” In 2002, Youzhny beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in the deciding rubber after trailing two-sets-to-love. “But they have Sebastien Grosjean, so it's going to be tough.”
The Russians decided this weekend’s tie on Friday and Saturday. Tursunov beat Dutch No. 1 Raemon Sluiter in four sets in a rubber that was considered by the hosts to be decisive for the tie. Then Davydenko beat a brave van Gemerden in three to put the Russians 2-0 up. On Saturday, Andreev and Youzhny's powerful play was too much for Dutch doubles duo Sluiter and John van Lottum.
Loyal fans help Dutch cause
The Dutch couldn't blame themselves for not trying and Huta-Galung even said, “It is 4-0 but it could have been the other way round too.” This was a young debutant's optimism speaking, as the Russians deserved to win every match. When things got a little tight, they just switched to a higher gear. This was true in particular for Davydenko, who admitted playing in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas out of a sense of responsibility.
On Sunday, the dead rubbers made for good entertainment for a boozy crowd who would cheer at anything, Sluiter said. “If you tell them ‘Guys, thanks for the support even though we already lost the tie,’ they go nuts and yell. If you tell them, ‘Guys, you are idiots because you are still cheering even though we are losing and these matches don't matter anymore,’ they go nuts and yell anyway. Then you might say, ‘Guys, I'm serious,’ and they go nuts again. So, yes, they're a great crowd."
Andreev and Youzhny kept themselves busy between the matches playing football against their coaching staff and getting beaten. They denied losing, but then Youzhny's coach Boris Sobkin intervened. “Don't listen to them, they're talking rubbish. We won.”
Then someone Dutch reminded them both that Russia wouldn’t be at the World Cup this year. Youzhny then explained lengthily how sad he was at this. As a comfort, he might well win the Davis Cup again in 2006.