Russia Rides the Roller-Coaster by Steve Tignor
Posted 12/04/2006 @ 4 :37 PM
How about that for a feel-good ending to the season? With a few hours of focused, forceful tennis, the game’s prince of gloom,
Marat Safin, dispersed a very large and ominous cloud that had been hovering over his head for the better part of two years. That’s what insane talent can do for you! ;D Despite his clinching win, it was the Davis Cup final as a whole, rather than Safin, that was the story of the weekend. The tie was a roller-coaster for every player involved—none of the heroes came away unscathed, but no one walked off a goat either. Russia vs. Argentina had everything we expect from Davis Cup: inspired shotmaking, overpowering nerves, inexplicable collapses, thunderstick abuse, and Boris Yeltsin and Diego Maradona (how about that for a celebrity tennis match?). The tie also showed that tennis is not essentially an “individual” sport, as the purists say. The team version provided what will be one of my lasting tennis memories of 2006: The sight of Jose Acasuso in tears on the sideline after losing the deciding rubber, and his teammates, in particular David Nalbandian, who had played so hard all weekend to give Acasuso a chance to win it, rushing around him to console him. You’ll never see that at Wimbledon.
I had predicted on Thursday that Russia would win 3-2, and that’s what happened. But I got most of the results backwards—there’s just no way to tell who will rise to the occasion in this atmosphere, and who will suddenly take a surprise dive. (Last year Ivan Ljubicic single-handedly willed Croatia to the final, then, with the Cup on his racquet, crumbled in five sets to Dominik Hrbaty.) Here’s what I thought would happen this weekend, and what actually did.
Nikolay Davydenko d. Juan-Ignacio Chela 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4Thursday Prediction: Davydenko’s ready for this and will win in four sets
I started strong. Davydenko said he was nervous to begin, but they must have been the right kind of nerves, because he was on top of the baseline and driving Chela backward right from the first game. I noticed again how Davydenko is able, perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever seen, to “cut off the angles” when he hits his ground strokes. The term is usually reserved for returning serve, where you’re taught to move in on a diagonal to intercept the ball. With his phenomenal footwork, Davydenko is quick enough to do this on routine ground strokes, even ones that are slugged by his opponent. It’s a new level of counter-punching.
Watching him roll through the first two sets against Chela, I found myself thinking that in 2007 Kolya would get my vote as the Most Likely to Beat Federer Other Than Nadal. He’s got all the tools, no glaring weaknesses, and is consistent enough to pull it off for two sets. But he still lets his nerves get in the way. Davydenko became noticeably tentative at the beginning of the third set, pulling up on his shots, and even after going up 4-1 in the fourth he staggered to the finish line.
David Nalbandian d. Marat Safin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4Thursday Prediction: This is a tough one to call, but I think the Safin serve will bail him out of trouble enough for him to get by in five sets
Wow, not quite! With 21 aces, Safin did serve about as brilliantly as you can and still lose in straight sets. But he looked rusty and a step slow otherwise, and he complained afterward about the surface that his own coach had chosen. Not that it mattered much, because Nalbandian came out with more fire than he had since he won the first set from Roger Federer in the semifinals at Roland Garros. While Nalbandian is never out of position, on Friday he was on top of the ball like I’ve never seen him. He was hitting so confidently that he even faked a shot, shadow-stroking a forehand pass as he ran toward the net before making the shot for real (and winning the point). Nalbandian’s forehand was a revelation all match. While not as celebrated as his backhand, Friday it was the source of most of his forcing shots and spectacular winners.
Safin-Dmitry Tursunov d. Nalbandian-Agustin Calleri 6-2, 6-3, 6-4Thursday Prediction: Nalbo’s hands and skills will be the difference again and Argentina will get their first win of the tie
Wrong again! This was a day of reversals: As good as Nalbandian had been on Friday, he was almost that bad in the doubles on Saturday, and vice-versa for Safin. This time Nalbandian couldn’t get a forehand return over the net when he needed it, while Safin served, returned, and even volleyed with total confidence. Credit Tursunov for part of this 24-hour turnaround. Shedding his usual on-court slouch, he inspired Safin with his own barrage of winners from all over the court. I had thought going in that the relatively classic doubles skills of the Argentines would trump the two-singles-players-on-one-court style of the Russians. But while it may not have been pretty—serving and staying back in men’s dubs? sacrilege!—there was no answer to the uncorked power of Safin and Tursunov. If you had a forehand like Tursunov’s, you’d serve and stay back, too.
Nalbandian d. Davydenko 6-2, 6-2, 4-6. 6-4Thursday Prediction: It will be enough for Nalbandian, tired as he may be, to catch him in four tight sets
If anything, Nalbandian raised his game for this one even further than he had against Safin. He played straight north-south tennis, muscling winners past Davydenko rather than bothering to construct points with angles. I’ve mentioned in the past the idea of “punctuating the percentages,” where a player like Sharapova or Federer will play basic, consistent tennis most of the time, then go flat-out for an unexpected winner to keep the opponent off balance. Nalbandian did the same Sunday. To break serve in the first set, he went for an uncharacteristic forehand winner up the line and got it; to break at 4-3 in the fourth set he simply played the ball safely down the middle and waited for an error from Davydenko (unfortunately for Nalbandian, he went on to choke his serve away at 5-3 before breaking again for the match).
As for Davydenko, he should be credited for making this one a match at all. He stopped a seemingly unstoppable Nalbandian for a set, but the adrenalin he used to make that comeback was gone by the fourth—you can’t win a five-setter on momentum alone. I was bothered by the way Davydenko finished the match, though. Serving at 4-5, he rushed through the points and smacked his ground strokes into the net, hardly appearing to care. It’s not an uncommon way for a player to deal with nerves, but Kolya will have to find an alternative if he’s going to have his warrior moment in the future—and get a win over Federer.
Safin d. Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)Thursday Prediction: Safin in straights, the Cup goes to Russia
There were calls for Tursunov to be subbed in for this one, but Safin put an end to them by saying, simply, “I am playing.” And he did, staying calm even when things got tight and Acasuso got hot. For the most part, Safin was stronger than Acasuso, and he imposed himself from the baseline. He had all his shots clicking, too, ending the first set with an atypical, but self-assured, down-the-line forehand winner.
Acasuso has the game to beat just about anyone, and he got it going in the second set. (He also had some help from Safin, who briefly lost his cool and began to hit bail-out drop shots instead of fighting through rallies.) Both of the Argentine's strokes are elaborately constructed and fabulous to watch when he's dictating play. And at times yesterday he had the upper hand over Safin and appeared to be on his way to a shocking win. With Acasuso serving at 0-1 in the third, the two played a titanic, see-saw, multi-deuce, multi-winner game. Safin eventually broke, but Acasuso showed some grit by breaking back for 3-4. Then he blinked, badly, dumping four feeble shots into the net. The set was over.
The fourth set featured more terrific play channeled into 12 straight service holds. It lasted all the way until Safin served at 6-4 in the tiebreaker, with two championship points. This time it was Safin’s turn to blink, as he played his most tentative points of the match. The first he lost; the second he won because Acasuso blinked right back. Serving at 5-6, the Argentine manipulated the point deftly and moved to the service line for what seemed sure to be a winning forehand. For some reason, I said to myself as he lined it up, “he’s going to net it,” and he did. It was one prediction I got right this weekend, probably because I could feel the pressure on Acasuso’s shoulders all the way from my living room.
In the moments after it was over, the camera panned to Diego “Hand of God” Maradona, who was at the center of the Argentine fan action. He had cheered outrageously all weekend and looked forlorn after the loss of a single point. Now, along with his fellow Argentines, he was still cheering even after his country had lost. It was time to pay tribute to the players and the drama of the event. We don't do that in the States; it must be another soccer tradition that’s been transferred to Davis Cup. But it was all the more fitting after a weekend that had been so full of triumph and excellence on both sides of the net.
The link, with a heartbraking photo of Chucho after his loss:
tennisworld.typepad.com/thewrap/2006/12/rollercoasting_.html
