Davis Cup QF: Israel Finishes Stunning Beatdown of Russia

The Israeli Davis Cup team, previously best known for playing in an empty arena in Sweden, advanced to its first ever Davis Cup semifinal by sweeping 2006 Davis Cup champion Russia 3-0. The Russians may pick up a dead rubber or two tomorrow, but in the competitive matches they were completely shut out by the underdog Israelis.

The reunited team of Israelis Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram survived a determined comeback effort powered by Marat Safin and partner Igor Kunitsyn, winning the doubles rubber 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4 in front of a raucous home crowd in Tel Aviv.

The way Israel shut out Russia makes this easily one of the most shocking upsets in all of sport for 2009. Israel was relegated outside of the World Group (the main division of sixteen countries who compete for the Davis Cup in a given year) as recently as 2007. Israel boasts only one player ranked within the top 200. Russia has eight players in the top 100, including three ranked higher than the highest-ranked Israeli, Dudi Sela. Only one of those three players ranked above Sela, Igor Andreev, decided to play for Russia in this quarterfinal.

The Russian Davis Cup team made back to back finals in 2006 and 2007, and had not lost before the semifinals since 2004. This loss comes at a time when a Russian man has only made one slam semifinal in the last seven slams (Safin, Wimbledon 2008), and when no Russian man has made a slam final since 2005 (Safin, Australian Open). Safin, the last Russian player to flirt with greatness at the highest levels and their perennial Davis Cup workhorse, is set to retire at the end of the year.

So where does his departure leave Russian men's tennis? Not in a good place, for now. Nikolay Davydenko, Dmitry Tursunov, and Igor Andreev have all presumably peaked. The only young up-and-comer to speak of, Igor Kunitsyn, has showed glimmers of potential in recent years, but lacks the power to ever be a serious contender in the second week of a slam.

Things aren't all bad for the sport in Mother Russia, obviously, as four of the top seven female players in the WTA rankings are Russians. A Russian complaining about their lack of men's tennis success would results would be like a Pittsburgher bemoaning the Pirates not matching the championships of the Steelers and Penguins. Hard to work up too much sympathy.

Davis Cup QF: Israel Stuns Russia, Leads 2-0

RUSSIA @ ISRAEL (ISRAEL LEADS 2-0)
Venue: Nokia Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel (Indoor Hard)

Harel Levy (ISR) def. Igor Andreev (RUS) 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Dudi Sela (ISR) def. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5

What should have been at least one easy point for Russia turned into a jaw-dropping Israeli sweep on Day 1 of their Davis Cup quarterfinal in Tel Aviv, putting the host country in the driver's seat to close out the win on Saturday, in the doubles match featuring Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram that had previously been considered their only chance to score a point.

To put it mildly, Igor Andreev, ranked #24 in the world, had absolutely no business losing to #210 Harel Levy. Andreev, though best on clay, is no hard court slouch, pushing Roger Federer to five sets in the fourth round of the US Open last year. Harel Levy, on the other hand, is a complete slouch. He hasn't finished a year inside the top 100 since 2001. The highlight of Levy's year going into this event was qualifying for Halle by beating Lukas Lacko, then immediately losing to lucky loser Lukas Lacko (try saying that five times fast) in the first round.

Mikhail Youzhny, on the other hand, has some possible excuses. He'd been out with injury for a while, and Dudi Sela had been real hot. It was a winnable match for both, but Youzhny's failure to get the victory compounds Andreev's disastrous loss.

There are definitely some questions to be asked of generally well-thought-of Russian Davis Cup Captain Shamil Tarpischev should Russia get knocked out tomorrow. Starting with where Nikolay Davydenko and Dmitry Tursunov, both solid hard courters and Davis Cup players, were that prevented them from playing. On top of the embarrassing loss to Italy for the Russian Fed Cup team back in April, a team Tarpischev also coaches, it could prove to be a pretty rough summer for him.

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.