While training has begun at Buenos Aires with a leisurely session for David and Agustin Calleri (the rest of the team has yet to arrive), Argentina's captain Alberto "Luli" Mancini has commented on David's projected role in the tie and his current physical state:
"In this tie, more than ever, it is likely that David will not play doubles. We will have to see how everything develops on Friday. But we are thinking about taking him out. David has recovered from his injury, he hasn't felt any pain for a month now and with the training sessions this week, he'll be gaining hours on the court."
"We're much better off than two months ago, with Juan Martin who has won a large number of matches during the last month and now comes to the Davis Cup at a very good moment. I think what bothers us more is the small number of matches David has played, but in these two weeks he'll find his form. In Davis Cup David has always found that extra motivation, which will make him play well."
Mancini also talked about the absence of Marat Safin's name on the Russian list of nominees:
"At the US Open, both Hernán Gumy (Safin's coach) and Marat told me that he was coming, which would make it strange if he didn't show up. I know that he has requested a visa to come. It's always like that, Safin will wait until the last moment to say if he plays or not. But I think that he'll show up because he told all of the Argentines that he was very eager to come."
(Picture and quotes from the Argentine newspaper Olé.)
Should Safin play after all (and nothing can be ruled out with Russia's captain Tarpishev), this could mean trouble for David. He's 3-6 for matches against Safin, though he won their last two encounters. They haven't played against each other since the Davis Cup Final 2006.
The Davis Cup website has a short interview clip with David, in which he talks about his thoughts and expectations for the semi-final tie.
As for David's plans for the rest of the season - I've just found his name on the players list for Stockholm (October 4 - 12). For the past four years, he played Vienna the week before Madrid, but it looks like this time he wants to do things differently.
2 comments:
Thanks for all of that information, Julia. I'm very pleased to see David with a little less weight of responsibility on his shoulders this time. Juan Martin is a great blessing in this regard.
True. But I still think that everybody will expect David to win both of this singles matches - the way he has always done, playing at home. Let's just hope that it won't be too much to ask of him, this time.
And I must say that finding his name on the list for Stockholm did come as a big surprise to me. Not just because he has such a tradition of playing Vienna, but because he played Vienna last year. With the momentous task lying ahead of him at Madrid and Paris, I guess I just didn't expect him to change his trusted schedule.
But apparently, that's exactly what he has in mind. It did work out to some extent, exchanging Queen's Club for Halle. Well, let's hope it does so again.
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