This will be your match-calling/discussion thread for today's first Davis Cup rubber: Andy Roddick vs. Dmitry Tursunov. I'll post another item later, where you can call the second match of the day.
The outstanding element in Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev's strategy for this tie has been the relegation of Nikolay Davydenko, ranked No. 4 in the world, to the doubles. The heavy lifting in singles will be done by two boys ranked far below NIkolay D (Youzhny is No. 19; Tursunov No. 34).
Wait - is that the Tarpischev Alert Bell I hear ringing? You bet.
I know Davydenko has never beaten Roddick or Blake (he's 0-11 against them), but still. . . he's No. 4 in the world, and a veteran of Grand Slam semifinals. He (and Tarpischev) know that Blake hasn't cracked the Davis Cup code yet, so I think Tarpischev may be keeping Davydenko in his back pocket - ready to trust his ability to step-up in a high pressure situation, as so many Russian players have done in recent years. If this were a home tie for Russia, I would have serious reservations about that kind of a ploy. But one of the subtexts of this tie is that all the pressure is on the US squad, for reasons ranging from the conspicuous absence of Russia's biggest star (Safin), to the fact of home-court advantage. Russia is perfectly positioned to play the roll of spoiler/
With Tarpischev loose, you all need to familiarize yourselves with the Davis Cup rules especially as they pertain to substitution (Just go to the link and type "substitution" into the PDF search box). Since pretty much anything goes after Day 1 in terms of substitution, I wonder if the nominated Russian doubles team will actually play that match.
The cost of putting together that Russian singles line-up was the doubles;. But it was a risk worth taking, because the Russian singles players are stronger than their credentials suggest. Why not invest in their potential as upset-makers? And having the experienced Davydenko anchor the Russian doubles squad seems a wise move, despite his partner Igor Andreev's lackluster 2-3 DC doubles record.
It's interesting, neither Youzhny nor Tursunov has an outstanding Davis Cup record: Youzhny is 13-13 (.500 in both singles and doubles), and Tursunov is 6-4, but 5-0 in singles. But both of these guys have clinched big ties: Tursunov did it with a 17-15-in-the-fifth win over Roddick in last year's semifinals in Moscow on clay, while Youzhny turned in one of the most memorable upsets in Davis Cup finals history in 2002. He beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in the fifth and decisive rubber, 6-4 in the fifth - on French soil. He clinched Russia's first Davis Cup with that performance, and has been a national hero ever since.
Tom Perrotta stuck his head in my office after the draw was made yesterday and we talked about this tie; he thinks things broke just right for the US squad, and that we couldn't ask for a better draw: Tursunov is not a great returner, and Andy is a power server and Davis Cup warrior. The doubles looks almost like a gimme - it's hard to imagine Andreev and Davydenko withstanding a typical Bryan Brothers barrage. So even if Youzhny, the most dangerous of Russian players, beats Blake today, the US ought to go into Day 3 with a 2-1 lead.
Fair enough, but. . .
It seems to me that an awful lot is riding on the first match for the US. Tursunov may have trouble returning Roddick's serve, but he is a mercurial player who's got a big Davis Cup win over Roddick (granted, on clay) under his belt. If I'm Pat McEnroe, I'm thankful to have Andy Roddick playing that first match. If I'm Shamil Tarpischev, I'm wondering how to get out of Day 1 alive, after which I can weigh my options for teasing another magnificent and unexpected Davis Cup performance out of one of my guys.
Okay, take it away, folks. . .