Looking back at the highs, and an unfortunate low, from Davis Cup play

“Top 14” has never been a common phrase in any sport, but this weekend tennis commentators and pundits—including myself—gave it a workout. That’s because just one of the Top 14 men in the ATP rankings, Novak Djokovic, participated in the first round of Davis Cup.

That’s a dismal percentage, and one worth worrying about for the International Tennis Federation’s already-beleaguered organizers and schedulers. But the team competition really is about nations—not celebrities—and as always, it took on a life of its own as the weekend progressed, in ways that were both thrilling and mortifying. Here’s a look back at four of its highlights, and its most unfortunate lowlight.

After 116 years, Davis Cup finds itself under pressure to update its format for the 21st century in a variety of ways. So far the competition has mostly resisted, but in 2015 it did make a tweak by instituting a fifth-set tiebreaker for the first time. It was the right move, as we could see this weekend. On Friday, three singles matches went the distance: Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Karen Khachanov of Russia; Franko Skugor of Croatia beat Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain; and Steve Darcis of Belgium beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.

Two of those breakers went to 8-6, the other to 7-5, and none lacked for appropriate match-ending tension and drama. The fact that some events have fifth-set tiebreakers and some don’t adds to the variety in the sport, but I’ve always thought the breaker was the way to go. Very few matches get more exciting after 6-6 in the final set. These three got the peak moments they deserved.

Speaking of Darcis, the 32-year-old Belgian played the hero all around this weekend, leading his undermanned Belgian team—the country’s top player, David Goffin, sat out—past a fully-stocked German squad. But while Darcis is ranked just 58th, his success wasn’t all that surprising. He’s one of those natural-born shot-makers—like David Nalbandian and Marat Safin—who seem most comfortable competing for his country. Darcis came into the weekend with an 18-8 record in Davis Cup singles, and he improved that with two tight wins against the Germans. The second was a tie clincher on Sunday over Alexander Zverev.

On occasion, Davis Cup has served as a needed pick-me-up for a top player after a disappointing result at a Slam. In 1982, John McEnroe recovered from his five-set loss in the Wimbledon final to Jimmy Connors by flying to St. Louis and beating Mats Wilander in a six-hour Cup epic. Djokovic may have felt a similar desire this weekend, when he played Serbia’s first-round tie two weeks after losing early at the Australian Open. His opponent on Friday, Daniil Medvedev, is ranked just 63rd, but the Russian’s ultra-flat strokes can be tricky to handle, and Djokovic fell behind a set and 0-3 before coming back to win in four. We’ll see what, if anything, that does for Djokovic’s season individually, but it could be the start of something big for the Serbian Davis Cup team. Its next tie will be at home against Spain in April, and you have to believe Djokovic will make himself available for it.

Davis Cup can be a balm for champions, but it can be an icy shower for up-and-comers. Even Pete Sampras got one in his first final in 1991, when he lost two singles matches in the U.S.’ defeat to France. This weekend, 19-year-old Zverev and 20-year-old Khachanov were both beaten by DC veterans (Darcis and Troicki, respectively). But no player has ever had as disastrous an introduction to the competition as 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov. Playing in his first live rubber on Friday, he lost in straight sets to Dan Evans. He was well on his way to doing the same on Sunday, when he fell behind two sets and a break to Kyle Edmund in the fifth rubber. As bad as that was for Shapovalov, though, things were about to get much worse.

After losing his serve early in the third set, Shapovalov fired a ball toward the stands, only to have it hit chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the face instead. Shapovalov was defaulted, as he had to be, and was apologetic afterward—he clearly wasn’t aiming in the umpire’s direction. It will be a learning experience of the harshest kind for the teenager, but it should also be a lesson for the sport. Other, more famous players—including Djokovic in London and Doha, and Roger Federer at Hopman Cup—have sent balls bouncing and sailing out of court recently. Maybe it’s time to make the penalty, which is up to the umpire’s discretion, an automatic warning and fine. Gabas apparently hasn’t suffered any damage to his eye; hopefully Shapovalov’s experience will be a wake-up call about the possible consequences of hitting balls in anger, for him and everyone else.

Two months from now, in early April, Davis Cup will reconvene for the quarterfinals. Which teams look like they might have a path beyond that?

The U.S. will travel to Australia for its second tie Down Under in three years. (America has owed the Aussies a home tie since 1999, when their match was moved to the States for the Cup’s 100th-anniversary celebration.) Depending on who musters up the desire to play for Australia—Nick Kyrgios? Bernard Tomic?—that looks winnable again for a committed U.S. team.

With its depth, this French generation is always a threat—one they have yet to make good on, of course. Next is a tricky home tie against Great Britain, the team that beat them in the quarters in Scotland two years ago. This one will almost certainly be played on clay, but what will matter more is who does the playing. Andy Murray? Gael Monfils? Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? Lucas Pouille? Murray in singles and doubles alone would make it a tough fight.

Finally, on Monday, Fabio Fognini came back from two sets down to beat Guido Pella, and Italy overcame Argentina 3-2, ending the Argentines’ title defense just three months after the country’s long-awaited first Cup victory in November. The same thing happened to Spain after their title in 2011, and Switzerland after theirs in 2014. Is there a way to give the two finalists more time to recover? A bye into the quarters is one possibility; even better would be turning the competition into a once-every-two-years event.

For now, Italy moves on to play Belgium in April. Is a Fognini-Darcis showdown in the works? They may not be in the Top 14, but I’d watch that.