Davis Cup 2018 - India

[jayakris]

Leander and Boppanna never or hardly talk to each other , but when it came to playing for the Nation it was a different story all together

Actually they seemed to have gotten along just fine this time. I am sure some of you saw the instagram selfie that Bops took a couple of days ahead of the match, of himself and Leander laughing heartily and Mahesh playing the fool from behind, making faces. That was cool. They are all older, and many people realize at some point that maybe it's not worth it to fight endlessly and spoil their own names. Smart of them, if that is the case. Already we all have more respect for them all for what they just did.

Sadly this commitment to play for the country as shown by LP/Bops, and the top guys in world for their respective nations was sorely lacking in Yuki.

That is probably not fair yet, Rajiv. If he repeats this too often, we can get on his case. Right now, he probably does have a real physical issue and even a 10 day break might hve been useful. He would have got only 3-4 days away from courts otherwise. It makes a difference. Hey, Leander did exactly this once (before the tie in Italy in 1998), and I have personal info from the horse's mouth that he had no real physical issue (which he proved by showing up on Monday and reaching the SF at Chennai) and was doing it "only to give the limelight to Hesh and Srinath to show what they can do rather than be under my shadow" (his own words to me). Yuki is certainly not doing anything of that kind. He probably felt that a break is crucial for him now at this stage of his career. But I will agree with you if he makes a habit of it. LP did it only one time in his career that I remember. He was always available for India otherwise, though there were occasions when he took some ties very lightly and showed up pretty late by the Thursday before the tie.

[Rajiv]

Fine Jay we can give him the benefit of doubt, but the dressing room was not amused

[jayakris]

Netherlands - in INDIA
Japan - in INDIA
Great Britian - in INDIA
Australia - abroad
Switzerland - abroad
Canada - the revenge, in INDIA
Serbia - abroad
Hungary - decided by lot

Czech Republic beats Israel and gets into play offs. So, put them in and take out lowest ranked Hungary as possible opponents. That will be an away match and won't be easy.

Results of other Europe-Africa Zone group 1 matches will not affect the seeds.

But, if Argentina beats Chile ( tied 1-1 after day 1), they will get into equation and replace second lowest ranked among above, Japan.

And ARG beats Chile 3-2.

If I am not mistaken, that makes it only three possible ties in India - NED, GBR, or CAN, and 5 possible ties away - AUS, SUI, SER, CZE, ARG.
Let us hope for Canada in India. Maybe Netherlands in India.

[jayakris]

Fine Jay we can give him the benefit of doubt, but the dressing room was not amused

True. That is really the issue that has a longer-term effect. Yuki will have to show up and do something notable to win back the trust. But first he needs to stay healthy for that.

[Varma]

Nadal from his injury ,Delpo, Sock,Isner, the complete ensemble of world tennis was doing National Duty

Delpo didn't spill his blood this time around

Sadly this commitment to play for the country as shown by LP/Bops, and the top guys in world for their respective nations was sorely lacking in Yuki.

I think you are being a bit too harsh on Yuki, Rajiv. After those 2 hectic tournaments, he deserves a break if he felt he needed one. Given his history, I would rather have him skip DC and stay healthy so that he can make the best out of May-Aug time frame that is loaded with 3 grand-slam. If the draws favor him and help him get a couple of wins, he will be able to play a few more masters qualies. Unlike Indian Wells and Miami, the rest of the masters are 64-draws which will make it harder for Yuki even to make the qualies list. There is a lot at stake for him in the next couple of months, so I am all for Yuki spacing his tournments wisely.

- Varma

[sameerph]

Yes, I think AITA and the fellow players should respect his professional choice. I think is the first time he has missed DC when reasonably fit.

Netherlands - in INDIA
Japan - in INDIA
Great Britian - in INDIA
Australia - abroad
Switzerland - abroad
Canada - the revenge, in INDIA
Serbia - abroad
Hungary - decided by lot

Czech Republic beats Israel and gets into play offs. So, put them in and take out lowest ranked Hungary as possible opponents. That will be an away match and won't be easy.

Results of other Europe-Africa Zone group 1 matches will not affect the seeds.

But, if Argentina beats Chile ( tied 1-1 after day 1), they will get into equation and replace second lowest ranked among above, Japan.

And ARG beats Chile 3-2.

If I am not mistaken, that makes it only three possible ties in India - NED, GBR, or CAN, and 5 possible ties away - AUS, SUI, SER, CZE, ARG.
Let us hope for Canada in India. Maybe Netherlands in India.

Yes, now this look like the likely opponents -

Argentina - Away
Great Britain - Home
Australia - Home ( Florian said home but the last match in 2002 was in Australia, after that I think they gave us a walkover when it was to be held in India, perhaps that does not count as it is not shown on DC site)
Switzerland - away
Serbia- away
Czech Republic -away
Canada - home
Netherlands - home

This is assuming there are no major change in order of rankings.

I will take Netherlands at home as our best choice.

[Varma]

I am pretty sure Federer and Stan won't play DC anymore, so Switzerland away won't be bad either.

- Varma

[Florian Buechting]

Yes, now this look like the likely opponents -

Argentina - Away
Great Britain - Home
Australia - Home ( Florian said home but the last match in 2002 was in Australia, after that I think they gave us a walkover when it was to be held in India, perhaps that does not count as it is not shown on DC site)
Switzerland - away
Serbia- away
Czech Republic -away
Canada - home
Netherlands - home

This is assuming there are no major change in order of rankings.

I will take Netherlands at home as our best choice.

Did not see the walkover - you are right that it is likely in Australia... With Czech and esp. Argentina, two ugly ones added to the list today... My favs are all home ties, Netherlands prefered maybe and Switzerland abroad (which would be a really easy travel to me apart from being a doable tie )

5th consecutive year in the play-offs!

[atula]

The Best Out of the Tie is the Confidence that Even with Main Players like Yuki & Saket out. .Bench Sitters like Pragnesh can pull a rabbit out of the Hat ..

That Gives the Players & The Team Overall..A Lot of Confidence..& Options to Face Big Teams..and they know that They Will Certainly not go out without a Fight & Make Life Difficult for the Opponents...

[PKBasu]

Ugh. We can't even celebrate for 24 hours without this Leander vs not Leander nonsense rearing its ugly head? Let's drop it now.

Apart from Sumit, every guy on the team contributed massively. Let's celebrate a team performance, for once.

Well said.

It was a magical triumph, and a great team effort. I certainly don’t think we could have done it without Leander, but nor could we have done it without Prajnesh. Well done Team India!

[Varma]

When will the draw take place for us to know our next opponents? Monday?

- Varma

[VReddy]

I am pretty sure Federer and Stan won't play DC anymore, so Switzerland away won't be bad either.

- Varma

does not have a second player beyond Henri (top 300), which is really sad. There is no one coming up from the pipeline too which is worrisome . Stan / Fed won't play until the team reaches WG.

For me, it will be a big upset if Switzerland defeats India no matter the location.

I can hopefully join Florian if we have an away match anywhere in Europe.

[Prashant]

When will the draw take place for us to know our next opponents? Monday?

- Varma

Varma the draw is on Tuesday at 9 AM GMT. They usually wait till Tuesday because occasionally some ties overflow to Monday due to weather.

[Varma]

Thanks, Prashant.

- Varma

[arjun2761]

Holy Molly. Holy Cow. Holy Toledo. Holy Mackerel - I don't know what to say! This is maybe more fantastic than Brazil, France or any other tie. Under the conditions, the heart shown is astounding. Mahesh demonstrated that he has his noodles together to insert Prajnesh. Wow! Time to contact Florian's travel agent. After following India DC for sixty years, it maybe time to attend one of these.

I know you mean this as hyperbole. However, the only comparison to the win in Frejus is that both were unbelievable. Frejus was an unbelievable upset in a Davis Cup QF on red clay against top 50 type opponents in which we were the underdogs in each match. This was avoiding an unbelievable humiliation in a zonal match where we were the ranking favorite in each match on a surface we are comfortable in.