Mens Tennis Forums banner

The Everything Davis Cup Thread (News, Articles, Live Scores)

162K views 2K replies 71 participants last post by  Armstrong2000 
#1 ·
I thought I'd start a new thread focused entirely on cheering on Australia back into the world group. They have just chosen Brisbane as the venue for our upcoming tie against Japan and its going to be played on clay! Should be interesting to see how our boys go on the dirt, obviously Luczak will feel right at home but Tomic, Ball, Gooch and co may struggle. I think Lleyton may be fit in time for the tie so the most logical team at this stage would be Hewitt and Luczak in the singles and Ball and Hanley/Gooch for the doubles.

I can't see Japan hurting us to badly especially if Rusty is fit and ready. Nishikori's elbow is still bothering him and if he somehow manages to play he will have no matchplay. Soeda is solid but I don't how he would fare on clay? May give Pete a tough match. Ito is their top ranked player at 201 but he has had a pretty poor start to the year and only just got the job done against the Phillipines, winning his last match in 5 sets. Suzuki is there darkhorse, he can still turn it on when he gets going.

Summing this up, we should progress here rather comfortably either 4-1 or 5-0 i'll predict.
 
#58 · (Edited)
Anyone know where we can watch todays play? Looks like channel 7 arn't showing it (surprise surprise)

Really is a joke they can't even put it on 7two, this is a new low for them.
 
#63 ·
Go on STEVE!!!
 
#64 ·
go go steve
 
#65 ·
got it!!!

BELGIUM!!! :worship::):worship:
 
#66 ·
:sad:

Good efforts by Looch and Carsten who both had chances in their matches, but just wasnt enough.
Sucks for Aus that Lleyton got injured. Oh and all those rain delays sent me insane. Should play where this is a roof ;):p
 
#71 ·
Yeah mate it was in the doubles. Injured his hand and it looks like he will be out for 3 weeks so he will miss Kuala Lumpar and possibly Shanghai as well.

I'm shattered as well, it was all going so smoothly. But I guess if we have to rely on one man we don't deserve to be there.
 
#72 ·
Rafter new Davis Cup captain

Former world No.1 Pat Rafter is Australia’s new Davis Cup captain.

Rafter replaces current captain John Fitzgerald, who has announced his retirement from the role after 10 years at the helm.

World-renowned coach and Australian tennis legend Tony Roche will also return to the Davis Cup team as Davis Cup coach.

Tennis Australia’s Director of Tennis Craig Tiley announced the changes today, proclaiming a historic new era in the sport.
http://www.tennis.com.au/pages/News.aspx?id=4&pageId=11478&HandlerId=2&archive=false&newsid=7787
 
#81 ·
Beijing blog: a new era takes shape

Three green hard courts, side by side. Indoors.

Green courts on reddish surrounds. Beautifully cleaned. All playing lowish and fast.

Over on the far side is the legendary Tony Roche. He’s constantly dipping into a box of Australian Open Wilson balls, feeding them rapid fire as he whips a pair of old mates in Chris Guccione and Peter Luczak through their paces. Occasionally he will stop for a quick word but then it is straight back into it. Feed, whack, whack, volley, volley, move, move, feed again…

In the middle on the match court is a very familiar face. Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt mustering his trademark intensity as he puts to the test a young Melburnian who the great John Newcombe has tipped could become a top 40 player. Marinko Matosevic brings a joy and a robustness to his play that is easy to like. It is an absorbing contest. Neither is holding back.

And on the third court, two Queensland youngsters have just arrived. Straight off the plane they are warming up and clearing away a few of the cobwebs. Bernard Tomic and Ben Mitchell appear relaxed, albeit a tad tired having just come in from London, but very much at ease in this environment.

Walking in between all three courts, pausing to observe, offer a word or two of advice or consult with Roche or other team staff… another very familiar face. There are no signs of any of the burden of his new job. Indeed former world number one and team captain Pat Rafter looks very much at ease.

Welcome to Beijing and yep, this is Australian Davis Cup circa 2011. A new era in a long and illustrious history. An era blending the old and the new. A nice mix of proven and potential, both on court and alongside it.

All of this has been coming for some months now. But now it is set against the backdrop of Tomic’s stunning Wimbledon run to the quarterfinals and the historic junior boys’ and girls’ Grand Slam title wins of Luke Saville and Ash Barty.

There has been much discussion within the team about the success of the youngsters and, one senses, more than a hint of pride.

For the extremely attentive Australian tennis fans of late there have been a few telltale signs of some progress.

Mitchell won a Futures title in Spain a couple of weeks ago, James Duckworth made another final last week and won two Futures titles in the last two months, Matt Reid won a Futures on the weekend. Saville also made the Australian Open junior final earlier in the year. All critical progressive steps for the next wave of young talent.

As Saville noted after his Wimbledon success: “I think we have a good environment in Australian tennis right now.”

Now the focus turns to a humid indoor venue in downtown Beijing … the venue from which Rafter, Roche and Co. hope to begin their nation’s Davis Cup resurrection against a feisty group of highly competitive but largely unheralded Chinese players.

So while there is a little bit of momentum, this next step on the weekend is bordering on critical.

But casting a glance across the frenetic activity at the Beijing International Tennis Center this afternoon, one senses that the right people are in place both on court and sitting alongside it, to give this proud tennis nation the very best chance of taking it.
 
#87 ·
Rafter seeks advice from super coaches

New Australian Davis Cup captain Pat Rafter has consulted legendary coaches Leigh Matthews and Wayne Bennett on how to foster a strong team environment heading into this week's Asia/Oceania tie against China in Beijing.

And the earlier signs of team harmony are strong, with Rafter reporting Bernard Tomic and Lleyton Hewitt are getting on well despite their strained relationship in the past.

While he was part of several Davis Cup campaigns as a player, Rafter said he wanted to tap into the knowledge of hugely successful rugby league coach Bennett and VFL/AFL premiership winning player-coach Matthews.

Advertisement: Story continues below
"I've spoken to Wayne Bennett and Leigh Matthews on trying to create that good team environment," Rafter told AAP on the phone from China.

"One thing I took out of that was we've got a team bus, where everyone gets on the bus together and everyone is talking, yapping away, telling stories.

"It's a really fun environment.

"Having Rochey (coach Tony Roche) back has been really good."

Rafter said one thing he has adopted from Bennett is banning mobile phones around the courts.

He is encouraged by the way team veteran Hewitt and rising youngster Tomic are getting on after their much-publicised differences.

"Obviously that was something we were concerned about when we came into it, but they have been fantastic," Rafter said.

"They've been getting along really well and that's been important."

Tomic's run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals boosts his ranking to 71, the best of any Australian male.

Injury-plagued Hewitt's plummeted to 173, making him only the fourth highest-ranked Australian.

Rafter took a diplomatic path when asked if Tomic was ready to take Hewitt's long-term position of Australia's No.1 Davis Cup singles player.

"Lleyton is our leader. He's been doing it for a long time. He knows what it's like to play in Davis Cup, but Bernard is our new man. He's our number one player," Rafter said.

"They are the two senior players right now. I don't look at them as one and two as such. They are pretty equal when it comes to that.

"Lleyton's ranking doesn't reflect his competitiveness and where he should be. He's had illnesses and injuries, so don't read too much into that.

"Bernard will probably come into his own in the middle of next year. I think he'll start peaking by that time."

He said the pair are pencilled in for the singles spots, although Hewitt's foot will be monitored and Tomic still has the cold he caught in London.

Rafter expects both men to play, but said 141st-ranked Marinko Matosevic is still in the singles mix, while Hewitt and and Chris Guccione are his preferred doubles team.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top