Davis Cup 2009

[SAFINNO1]

The controversy begins!
Israel to host Russia in Davis Cup in Tel Aviv

LONDON — Israel will host Russia at the Nokia Stadium in Tel Aviv in the Davis Cup quarter-finals.

Israel usually plays at the Canada Stadium in Ramat Hasharon, but the local federation decided to choose a larger venue for the team's second-ever quarter-final appearance, the International Tennis Federation said Monday.

The Israelis, who last reached the quarter-finals in 1987, upset Sweden 3-2 in the first round. The best-of-five series was played behind closed doors in Malmo because local authorities said they couldn't guarantee security at the venue.

Israeli men's number one Dudi Sela publicly opposed the idea of playing the Davis Cup tie against Russia in Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena.

The Israel Tennis Center (ITC) had turned to court on Friday, hoping to force the ITA to change its decision to play the matches at the Nokia Arena instead of the Canada Stadium in Ramat Hasharon, which traditionally hosts Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties.

However, after the sides failed to reach a compromise as Judge Yehuda Fargo suggested, he ruled that the ITA's decision from Friday will stand and the tie will be played at the Nokia Arena.

"The ITA and ITC should have compromised, but failed to do so," Fargo said.

"The stadium at Ramat Hasharon doesn't fit the requirements for such a world class event and therefore it is better off to play at Nokia."

The ITC was obviously not pleased with the ruling.

"I think this is the wrong decision," ITC CEO Janine Strauss said. "It was important for the players to play at Ramat Hasharon."


Also, Croatia will host the United States on clay in the Zatika Sports Hall in Porec, and defending champion Spain will host Germany on clay at the Plaza de Toros in Marbella.

The Czech Republic had already announced it would host Argentina on an indoor hard court at the Cez Arena in Ostrava.

The quarter-finals will be played July 10-12.

[SAFINNO1]

Russia's top-ranked Davis Cup player, Marat Safin, will take part in the tournament's quarterfinals against Israel despite his announcement that he will be retiring at the end of the year. Russian Captain Shamil Tarpischev said the player, ranked 25th in the world, has vowed to come to Israel for the encounter in July. Tarpischev voiced his concern yesterday about the form of his players and said that relocating the encounter from Ramat Hasharon to the Yad Eliyahu Auditorium in Tel Aviv might strengthen his team's chances. (Eli Shvidler) Advertisement

www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1078890.html

[jenhatter06]

Australia refuses DCup trip to India, risks ban

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -Australia could face a one-year suspension from the Davis Cup after refusing to travel to India in May for the tennis competition, citing ``high-risk'' security concerns.

Tennis Australia said Saturday there is an ``unacceptable level of risk'' in Chennai, India, and had appealed for a change of venue after the International Tennis Federation said last week that the southern Indian city was approved by security consultants.

The ITF on Friday rejected Australia's appeal and upheld the decision to hold the matches in Chennai as originally planned May 8-10. The winner would advance to the World Group playoffs in September.

Less than 12 hours after the ITF announced that decision, Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard said his team - which could have included past Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt - would boycott the match.

If a team withdraws from the competition after the draw, Davis Cup rules say the country will not be eligible to take part in the competition the following year and be fined up to $100,000.

The ITF said the Davis Cup Committee would decide on any penalties ``in due course.''

``The ITF regrets and respectfully disagrees with the decision of Tennis Australia to default,'' the competition's governing body said in a statement.

Voting in the Indian general election finishes three days after the match. Cricket's Indian Premier League was moved to South Africa over concerns that the election would make security tougher to carry out.

``We asked for the tie to be moved because we have major security concerns for the players, particularly during the election,'' Pollard said at Mildura, Victoria, where Australia is playing Fed Cup tennis this weekend. ``The ITF decision has left us with no other option. We cannot send the team. It is extremely disappointing. Davis Cup is very important to us, but some things are more important than tennis.''

Australia Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald said he was angered by the ITF decision. ``It is just irresponsible. Surely some thought must be given to the players' safety,'' Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald said his players hope the ITF will change its mind.

Concerns about security on the Indian subcontinent increased after the terror attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, last month. Terror attacks in Mumbai last November, blamed on Islamic extremists, killed 166 and injured 304 in the Indian financial center and forced an international Twenty20 cricket tournament to be scrapped.

India's federal sports minister, M.S. Gill, said there was no justification for Australia's boycott. "I regret that Australia is not willing to come to Chennai to play us. We're fully conscious of security concerns and there is no justification for Australia not to play in Chennai,'' Gill said in a statement. ``There is no law-and-order problem in Chennai. India does not have a slightest of problems regarding security in sports.''

[SAFINNO1]

Davydenko to miss Russia's Davis Cup tie in Israel
Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:46pm IST

Russia will be without their top player Nikolay Davydenko in next month's Davis Cup quarter-final against Israel, team captain Shamil Tarpishchev said on Thursday.

Tarpishchev said he had allowed world number 11 Davydenko to miss Russia's first two ties in this year's competition.

The top-ranked Russians, who beat Romania 4-1 in the first round in March, drafted former world number one Marat Safin, ranked number 23, Igor Andreev (25), Dmitry Tursunov (27) and Mikhail Youzhny (44) for the July 10-12 encounter in Tel Aviv.

"Of course, we still have time before we travel to Israel so we might see some changes in the team in the next couple of weeks," said Tarpishchev.

"I'll make a final decision after Wimbledon."

[jenhatter06]

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal nominations

Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Fernando Verdasco headline the team nominations for the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Quarterfinals to be played on 10-12 July.

Live scoring for all World Group ties will be available on the Davis Cup website throughout the weekend, along with the usual array of reports, photos, and interviews. There will also be reports from the draw for each tie on 9 July.

As action unfolds around the world, you will also be able to access a radio-style update through Davis Cup Radio, the official audio service of the competition, rounding up all the Davis Cup news and results. There will be reaction from players as well as expert analysis from the Tennis Radio Network, who will be providing the daily show.

CZECH REPUBLIC v ARGENTINA
Venue: Cez Arena, Ostrava (hard - indoors)

Czech Republic
Tomas Berdych
Radek Stepanek
Ivo Minar
Lukas Dlouhy
Captain: Jaroslav Navratil

Argentina
Juan Martin Del Potro
Jose Acasuso
Leonardo Mayer
Juan Monaco
Captain: Tito Vazquez

CROATIA v USA
Venue: Sportska Dvorana "Zatika", Porec (clay - indoors)

Croatia
Marin Cilic
Ivo Karlovic
Roko Karanusic
Lovro Zovko
Captain: Goran Prpic

USA
Mardy Fish (replaced Andy Roddick)
James Blake
Mike Bryan
Bob Bryan
Captain: Patrick McEnroe

ISRAEL v RUSSIA
Venue: Sport Palaces Ltd (Nokia), Tel Aviv (hard - indoors)

Israel
Dudi Sela
Haral Levy
Jonathan Erlich
Andy Ram
Captain: Eyal Ran

Russia
Igor Kunitsyn (replaced Dmitry Tursunov)
Marat Safin
Igor Andreev
Mikhail Youzhny
Captain: Shamil Tarpischev

SPAIN v GERMANY
Venue: Plaza de Toros de Puerto Banus, Marbella (clay - outdoors)

Spain
Fernando Verdasco
Tommy Robredo
Juan Carlos Ferrero (replaced David Ferrer)
Feliciano Lopez
Captain: Albert Costa

Germany
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Nicolas Kiefer
Mischa Zverev
Andreas Beck
Captain: Patrick Kuhnen

[adout]

Some great pictures of Marat arriving in Isreal, practicing and at the press conference on MTF! Not sure if I am supposed to hotlink that page so just go to Marat's forum..

[Annie]

Kunitsyn called up for Russia

Igor Kunitsyn will represent Russia in this weekend's Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Quarterfinal against Israel, after Dmitry Tursunov withdrew on Tuesday.

Kunitsyn, ranked No. 35 in the world, has only played one Davis Cup match previously. In last year's semifinal against Argentina, he partnered Tursunov in the doubles and came back from two-sets down against Guillermo Canas and David Nalbandian to keep Russia alive in the tie. The team eventually lost 3-2 to the hosts.

Kunitsyn will join Marat Safin, Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny for the tie. Team captain Shamil Tarpischev announced last month that Russia's No. 1 player, Nikolay Davydenko, would miss the quarterfinal, having also skipped the first round in March.

[Annie]

[SAFINNO1]

Arriving






Press






Practising

[SAFINNO1]

Tarpischev opts for experience
Although he is currently the lowest-ranked of the four players on Russia's team, Mikhail Youzhny was given one of the singles berths alongside Igor Andreev for the tie against Israel. Youzhny famously came back from two sets down in the final rubber of the 2002 Final to land Russia's first Davis Cup title.

Dudi Sela will carry the singles burden for the home team. Ranked a career-high No. 33, the Israeli will look for victories in both singles rubbers as his nation attempts to reach a first-ever Davis Cup semifinal.

Sela was drawn to play Youzhny in Friday's second rubber, after Harel Levy and Igor Andreev have kicked off the tie in Tel Aviv. This is the first time since 1989 that Israel has not played at Ramat Hasharon.


The full draw is as follows:

Friday
Harel Levy (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

Saturday
Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) v Igor Kunitsyn/Marat Safin (RUS)

Sunday
Dudi Sela(ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Harel Levy (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

The home team captain, Eyal Ran, nominated Israel's top pairing of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich for Saturday's doubles, while his Russian counterpart, Shamil Tarpischev, named veteran Marat Safin, who will quit the game at the end of the year, alongside doubles specialist Igor Kunitsyn.

The city of Tel Aviv, a place always drenched in summer sunshine, hosts a rare indoor tie after the Israel Tennis Association decided to play at the 11,000 seat Nokia Arena instead of the usual venue, the 3,500 seat Canada Stadium in Ramat Hasharon. Indeed, it is the first time since 1989 that Israel has not hosted a tie at Ramat Hasharon, which is one of the country's main centres of tennis excellence and where many players spend much of their time training.


Andreev pleased to be playing indoors

"Starting the tie is always a bit emotional when all the fans are supporting the local player from the start, but I am playing well now and I'm confident in my game," Andreev said. He added that he was pleased to be playing in an indoor arena when the temperatures outside and the high humidity would take their toll:

"For us it’s more comfortable because to play five sets during three days is really tough and indoors is always easier."

Veteran Safin said on paper Russia are favourites but that the advantage was whittled away because they are playing away.

"We are playing in Israel, Dudi Sela is playing really well and they have a very good doubles pair so it is going to be really tough and the first day will be very important," he said.

Safin, who recently announced his retirement said capturing another Davis Cup trophy before he retires would be unlikely: "It's tough, we have a very difficult draw and I don't think it will happen this year but the hope is still there...after this year I'm done, it's enough."


Israel not daunted

Israeli captain Eyal Ran said Israel was not daunted by the Russian opposition:

"We are going into the tie very ambitiously, we want to play as well as we can and on a given day I know that our plyaers will give 1,000 percent. They will lift their game and I'm sure we will have some chances and if they are courageous and smart enough to take them anything can happen."

He added that the home fans could also play a crucial part in helping the Israeli players to victory. The tie is expected to attract the largest-ever Davis Cup crowd in Israel and the Israel Tennis Association say the 11,000-seat arena has been sold out for all three days.

"We have a very good crowd and they play a big part in our game so if the guys perform well and other small things go our way this can add up to a few points that can make the difference," he said.

Ran said the tie represented a "historic moment" in Israeli tennis. "There will be some great tennis played, and I hope many people will get to see it and I know it will motivate them to go out and play and hopefully it will help encourage future generations of players in Israel, Russia and everywhere else," he said.

[SAFINNO1]

Marat Interview
www.daviscup.com/news/radiopopup.asp?mediaid=11269&medianame=

[SAFINNO1]

[Dina]

absolutely speecheless!!!!! don't know who's to blame!!! the most disappointing tie I've witnessed in years !!! ugh!!!!!

[SAFINNO1]

Looks Like Marat will play his Last Ever Davis Cup Tie in the doubles against Israel tomorrow

Erlich and Ram on paper should win this!

Poor Display by the Russians!

[maryb]

Heading home now after a hard night of cocktails and debate on how to save the universe, what were the scores guys?

I feel rough. And it's another 20 minutes before I get the key in the front door. Hopefully. Wish me luck. And a pleasant morning. Unlikely.

Hic.

FG