Namihaya Dome, Kadoma, Osaka
Stadium Capacity: 2000
06 March - 08 March 2009
Day 1: 1200 hrs (0300 hrs GMT)
Day 2: 1300 hrs (0400 hrs GMT)
Day 3: 1100 hrs (0200 hrs GMT)
Surface: Carpet (Taraflex) - Indoors
Ball Type: Dunlop Fort
Official nominations
JAPAN
Kei Nishikori (#93, age 19)
Go Soeda (#106, age 24)
Satoshi Iwabuchi (#403, age 33)
Takao Suzuki (#500, age 32)
Team captain: Eiji Takeuchi
CHINA
Shao-Xuan ZENG (#583, age 27)
Ze ZHANG (#873, age 18)
Di WU (#1277, age 17)
Team captain: Ling LU
I don't know why the Chinese team has nominated only three players.
Ranking-wise, they look no match for Japan, but you can never underestimate anyone at Davis Cup! Two of the players are young, upcoming players, so their ranking may not reflect their true form.
Kei said at a press conference today that his arm is not yet 100%, and MR scan found that he had tendonitis on his arm. But he said it's definitely getting better and that he can play DC.
thx for correcting me bunny, hope Kei can take pleasure in playing in front of the home crowd in Davis cup for the first time.
i like his attitude tho, transforming pressure to pleasure
gare, sorry for this late reply.
I doubt there will be any live stream. The tie will be televised by Gaora in Japan, but I'm not a subscriber so I can't watch it on TV either (I'll be at work anyway.)
All the 2,000 tickets have long been sold out for the three days. According to the Japanese media, guards will be hired for the tie for the first time in Japan's Davis Cup history, because most of the spectators are coming to see Kei and there maybe some trouble.
I suspect many of the spectators who will be there don't even know how the DC works, like that Kei doesn't play doubles or that if Japan wins three rubbers by Saturday, Kei, the No.1 player of the country, won't play on Sunday under normal circumstances. I think he will play even the dead rubber this time just for the sake of the crowd and he probably wants to play in front of the home fans. Playing two five setters against a lesser opponent shouldn't be a problem for him physically, too. But I hope in the future there will be mutual understanding between the fans and the organisers that Kei may not play a dead rubber.
I say this because I've learned from some coverage of Kei's press conference that the reason he had MR scans on his arm was that the pain actually got worse about two weeks ago and at one point he thought about withdrawing from the tie. Fortunately, it got better so he decided to play, but I'm a bit worried about this whole situation that this injury, which turned out to be tendonitis, doesn't seem to go away, and I know that for tendonitis resting is the best way to deal with it.
I'm a bit surprised that he hadn't had an MR scan earlier and a little disappointed in his physical training staff.
OK, I'm starting to sound grumpy!
I wish all the best for the team Japan and I hope Kei will enjoy the experience!
I suspect many of the spectators who will be there don't even know how the DC works, like that Kei doesn't play doubles or that if Japan wins three rubbers by Saturday, Kei, the No.1 player of the country, won't play on Sunday under normal circumstances. I think he will play even the dead rubber this time just for the sake of the crowd and he probably wants to play in front of the home fans. Playing two five setters against a lesser opponent shouldn't be a problem for him physically, too. But I hope in the future there will be mutual understanding between the fans and the organisers that Kei may not play a dead rubber.
I say this because I've learned from some coverage of Kei's press conference that the reason he had MR scans on his arm was that the pain actually got worse about two weeks ago and at one point he thought about withdrawing from the tie. Fortunately, it got better so he decided to play, but I'm a bit worried about this whole situation that this injury, which turned out to be tendonitis, doesn't seem to go away, and I know that for tendonitis resting is the best way to deal with it.
I'm a bit surprised that he hadn't had an MR scan earlier and a little disappointed in his physical training staff.
Thanks for the report bunny!
That does sound worrying. I hope Kei came to the decision under sound advice and didn't 'force' himself to play because he didn't want to let the team and fans down. Much as I love the Davis Cup, it still comes second after players' health.
OSAKA: Tennis ace Kei Nishikori beat Zhang Ze to give Japan a 2-0 lead over China in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone Group One second-round tie on Friday.
The 19-year-old Nishikori, who caused a sensation by winning his first ATP title a year ago, struggled with the strong serve of 18-year-old Zhang, who hit a total of 13 aces. But Nishikori pulled off a late break in each set to score a solid 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 victory in the second singles match.
Earlier, Go Soeda put Japan one up by beating Zeng Shaoxuan 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 in the best-of-five contest.
On Saturday, Takao Suzuki and Satoshi Iwabuchi will take on Zeng and Zhang in the doubles match before Sunday’s reverse singles. The winners of the tie will meet either Uzbekistan or South Korea in the third round May 8-10. afp
==============================
In the post-match interview Kei said he's happy he could win in a tense atmosphere of a live rubber, compared to his first DC victory in a dead rubbber last year in India.
His arm is not 100% yet and sometimes he can't hit the way he wanted. He also thinks the other pros on tour have studied the way he plays and what his weaknesses are, so the challenges he's facing is getting tougher and tougher. But he wants to do well in the two big tournaments in US (IW and Miami) so that his ranking can go up again.
In a recent interview on a Japanese newspaper he said he really loves tennis now more than ever that he can't think of living without it.
Takao Suzuki def. Di Wu 6-2 6-3
Go Soeda def. Ze Zhang 4-6 6-3 6-2
In the third round, Japan will face either South Korea or Uzbekistan from May 8-10. At the moment, the Uzbeks lead the South Koreans 2-1.
The next tie will be in Japan if the opponents are the South Koreans, and in Uzbekistan if it's the Uzbeks.
The problem for Kei is he will have to fly back to Asia in the middle of the European clay court season, in the same week as Munich/Estoril/Belgrade and the week before Kitzbuhel (moved from Portschach) and World Team Championship.
Japan usually doesn't play in WTC, but it's a pity he can't enter Munich/Estoril/Belgrade and Kitz because those tournaments would be easier for him to enter than the Masters Series events and Balcelona, which Kei will have to qualify.
Uzbekistan will probably choose clay, but South Korea may choose a faster surface, so from Kei's point of view, it would be easier to prepare for the Uzbeks, although Istomin will be tough to beat at home.
Unlike this time, Japan will probably need Kei to advance next time. If they win, they can then play in the World Group play-off in September.
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