More from the TennisWorld Cabal. This, from Steve Tignor:
It’s hard to say a bad word about Davis Cup. This past weekend, during which there were eight first-round ties and many titanic matches played, made it even harder. Since you may have seen the United States’ debacle, I’ll spare you more grief and talk about the France vs. Sweden tie, broadcast on the Tennis Channel from Strasbourg, France. It began with Sweden’s Joachim Johansson (not to be confused with Sweden’s other singles player, Thomas Johansson) playing his first Cup singles match, vs. Strasbourg native Paul Henri-Mathieu, an injury-prone journeyman who seems only to play Davis Cup. .
In 2002, Mathieu suffered the ultimate nightmare in the Cup final. He was up two sets in the deciding fifth rubber at home against Russia. Long story short, he choked, losing to Mikhail Youzhny in five, and Russia took the Cup.
After disappearing for a couple years, Henri-Mathieu came back in 2004 and found himself fighting for his country in a fifth set again, in the semifinals against Carlos Moya, before a raucous Spanish crowd. This time, with considerable support from team captain Guy Forget, Mathieu shocked everyone and came through in the clutch, beating Spain’s No. 1 6-3 in the fifth. Redemption was his (though France didn’t win another match).
In this weekend’s tie, Mathieu was the hardened vet, letting Johansson self-destruct in a sea of errors and idiotically low-percentage service returns. Still, Johansson discovered a play that worked for him on France’s slow clay—a short chip backhand, which he used to draw Mathieu out of position and open the court for stealth net attacks.
Johansson returned to the court on Sunday a changed man against France’s Sebastien Grosjean. He had his chip going, and everything else—big serve, big forehand—clicked in behind it. It didn’t take Johansson long to find his Davis Cup feet.
That win meant that the deciding match came down to Sweden’s other Johansson (Thomas) and—you guessed it—Mathieu. The Frenchman, up two sets and serving at 5-3,began to play like a haunted man. He lost the third in a tiebreaker and went down a break in the fourth. But his winning experience against Moya last year counted for something. At 3-4, Mathieu found his stride again, went on the attack, and rolled through the final three games.
He ended the day being tossed above his teammates before his hometown fans.
This is what Davis Cup, like other team sports, offers: A chance for a journeyman to rise to the occasion, to make the memorable play. At Wimbledon, it’s the Roger Federers of the world who have the privilege of finding out what they’re made of at the biggest moments. In Davis Cup, the Mathieus, like the Tim Wakefields of baseball, get a chance to redeem themselves.