Davis Cup Quarterfinals Preview

The quarterfinals of the Davis Cup begin on Friday, with all four ties seemingly winnable for both sides. Three of them, surprisingly enough for July, are being held indoors. Coverage of the USA-Croatia tie will be live on Tennis Channel in the States, with streams of the other three quarterfinals likely findable somewhere on the world wide web.

Only the first two match-ups in each tie are locked in, the rest are subject to change(*).

ARGENTINA @ CZECH REPUBLIC
CEZ Arena, Ostrava, Czech Republic (Indoor Hard)

Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Juan Monaco (ARG)
Ivo Minar (CZE) v Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Lukas Dlouhy/Radek Stepanek (CZE) v Juan Martin del Potro/Leonardo Mayer (ARG)*
Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)*
Ivo Minar (CZE) v Juan Monaco (ARG)*

Nalbandian being out really weakens the Argentines, who could be in trouble against the same Czech team that upset the French in the first round. Radek Stepanek, out with a knee injury, could be an even bigger loss in singles, since he and his Czech Flag outfit usually do so well at Davis Cup. I expect del Potro to win both his singles matches, but for the Czechs to grab the other three for the win, possibly with Stepanek heroically returning for the fifth match vs. Acasuso.
Prediction: Czech Republic 3-2

USA @ CROATIA
Sportska Dvorana, Porec, Croatia (Indoor Clay)

Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v James Blake (USA)
Marin Cilic (CRO) v Mardy Fish (USA)
Ivo Karlovic/Lovro Zovko (CRO) v Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)*
Marin Cilic (CRO) v James Blake (USA)*
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) v Mardy Fish (USA)*

Even Without Andy Roddick, I think the USA has a pretty decent shot in this one if they can handle Ivo Karlovic's serve. Big "if" there. The Bryans are a lock for doubles, as always, and if Fish and Blake can handle a Karlovic serve that should be somewhat stunted on clay, it could be a big win for the United States. That said, I don't think both Blake and Fish will be able to crack Karlovic, which is what it would take since Cilic should cruise to two singles wins.
Prediction: Croatia 3-2

RUSSIA @ ISRAEL
Venue: Nokia Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel (Indoor Hard)

Harel Levy (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) v Igor Kunitsyn/Marat Safin (RUS)*
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)*
Harel Levy (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)*

On paper, this is a real routine win for the Russians. In reality, the only Russian of late who has been playing mildly consistant tennis is Igor Andreev, not known for his Davis Cup prowess. Look for Dmitry Tursunov, not listed in this initial lineup, to see action for the Russians. Russian Davis Cup Captain Shamil Tarpishev loves nothing more than trying to outmaneuver opposing coaches with last minute changes. Israel has a good doubles team in Erlich/Ram (the winners of the 2008 Australian Open Men's Doubles), but Harel Levy is a weak second singles option. Asking Sela to win two singles matches is likely too much to hope for. No matter the result, however, the crowds at Russia-Israel team tennis clashes have proven to be a lot of fun in the past, and should be again this time.
Prediction: Russia 3-2

GERMANY @ SPAIN
Venue: Plaza de Toros de Puerto Banus, Marbella (Outdoor Clay)

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v Andreas Beck (GER)
Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v Nicolas Kiefer/Mischa Zverev (GER)*
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)*
Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Andreas Beck (GER)*

The match-up of Spain (minus Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer) and Germany (minus Tommy Haas) certainly leaves something to be desired. But even without each country's top player, there's a lot to look forward to in a few of these matches. Kiefer and Zverev are both considerably more comfortable on faster surfaces, which I presume is why Beck is getting the nod for singles. Kohlschreiber-Robredo is a good one that should come down to Kohlschreiber's nerves being better. Kohlschreiber-Verdasco could be a close one as well, especially if Verdasco's mind and forehand are misfiring, as they are prone to do in Davis Cup matches. The whole tie largely comes down to how well Kohlschreiber plays, and I think he'll play well, but not well enough to carry Germany all the way. Hopefully Nadal is healthy in time for the semifinal round.
Prediction: Spain 3-2

Should be a good weekend of tennis to wrap up what has otherwise been a fairly dull, hungover week to follow Wimbledon.

Warming Up And Cooling Off

The grass court season leading up to Wimbledon is a mere two weeks, far less surface preparation time than is afforded for any other grand slam. Because the window of preparation is so small, one would think that making the most of the warm-up tournaments on grass would be a direct indicator of success at SW19.

But in the opening round of Wimbledon, that theory has been completely toppled, as smaller titles on the turf heading in have created no significant tailwinds to speak of for the victors at the All-England Club. Rather, these champions have been apparently exhausted by the effort needed to secure the lesser prizes.

Here is how the seven winners of the seven warm-up tournaments have failed fared in the opening round of Wimbledon:

ATP Eastbourne Champion Dmitry Tursunov (Seeded #25 at Wimbledon, lost to unseeded Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 3-0 ret.)

Perhaps more physically exhausted than mentally, Russian/Californian Dmitry Tursunov followed up his title at the first Eastbourne ATP tournament with a lethargic upset loss to German Mischa Zverev, a match Tursunov was unable to complete due to an ankle injury that had also surfaced in Eastbourne.

WTA Eastbourne Champion Caroline Wozniacki (Seeded #9 at Wimbledon, defeated unseeded wild card Kimiko Date Krumm 5-7, 6-3, 6-1)

For the first part of her first round match, eighteen-year old Dane Caroline Wozniacki looked nowhere near as fresh as an opponent two full decades her senior, Japan's Kimiko Date Krumm, who has recently returned to the tour at age thirty-eight. Wozniacki was eventually able to outmuscle Date Krumm, but not with anything near the ease that would be expected for a top ten player playing a rusty opponent ranked well outside the top 100.

ATP Halle Champion Tommy Haas (Seeded #24 at Wimbledon (though ranked #35), defeated unseeded Alexander Peya 6-7(5), 7-6(0), 6-3, 6-4)

Germany's Tommy Haas recovered well from losing the first set to Austrian Alexander Peya, defeating him in four sets. Haas' title in Halle was his first since February of 2007, and his current win streak of six is his longest since that same month.

WTA Birmingham Champion Magdalena Rybarikova (Unseeded at Wimbledon, lost to unseeded Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-2)

Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova won her first career WTA title in Birmingham just over a week ago, so her having a letdown at Wimbledon is not an enormous surprise. What is surprising is how lopsided her defeat to Italy's Roberta Vinci was, given Vinci's general lack of success outside of clay courts.

ATP 's-Hertogenbosch Champion Benjamin Becker (Unseeded at Wimbledon, defeated Roko Karanusic 6-4, 6-4, 6-1)

Arguably the most impressive of the warm-up champions in his first round (faint praise) was Benjamin Becker (no relation to Boris). Becker, who is still best known for beating Andre Agassi at the 2006 US Open in what would be the last match of Agassi's career dispatched Croatian Roko Karanusic in straight sets. Becker was the only one of the seven 2009 grass champions not to drop a set in the first round of Wimbledon.

WTA 's-Hertogenbosch Champion Tamarine Tanasugarn (Unseeded at Wimbledon, lost to unseeded Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-4, 6-4)

Easily the WTA player most specialized toward grass court play, Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn shockingly crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round to the unheralded clay court specialist Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain. Tanasugarn reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year, losing to eventual champion Venus Williams. Failing to defend the points she earned in last year's tournament, Tanasugarn's ranking will plummet approximately 34 places after Wimbledon, from #47 to #81.

ATP Queen's Club London Champion Andy Murray (Seeded #3 at Wimbledon, defeated Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4)

The highest-ranked man to enter a grass court warm-up event, Scotsman Andy Murray struggled perhaps more than expected in his four-set win over seventy-sixth ranked American Robert Kendrick. Kendrick had previously pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets at Wimbledon in 2007, so the challenge wasn't completely unexpected. But it is safe to say, all the same, that Murray would have liked to have opened his Wimbledon campaign with a more convincing win in front of the throngs of Brits hanging their hopes on his shoulders.

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So what does the uninspiring 4-3 record of these grass court warm-up tournament champions say about the importance of preparation? All seven champions were facing a lower-ranked opponent, and all but one of them lost at least one set. Perhaps after the grueling and seemingly interminable clay court season, rest is just as valuable as reacclimation.

Last year's finalists on both the Gentlemen's and Ladies' sides demonstrate both schools of thought on Wimbledon preparation--Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer won Queen's Club and Halle respectively and met in the final, while the Ladies' final was contested by Venus and Serena Williams, both of whom skipped the pre-Wimbledon grass stretch as they have done most every year.

It could just be as simple as a gender difference--that the men recover more quickly than do the women, with the male champions going 3-1 in the first round (with Tursunov's injury bringing the only loss), while the women, especially those lower ranked ones with less experience following up titles, were more vulnerable to an early let down.

The impact of the warm-up events will likely be less and less as the fortnight continues, but for the opening few days, it's worth taking a gander at.