(AP Photo)
Here's the schedule for the weekend...
Friday
Matches start 3pm CET (2pm GMT, 11am Argentina, 9am EST)
Eduardo Schwank vs Robin Söderling
Leornardo Mayer vs Joachim Johansson
Saturday
Doubles starts 4pm CET (3pm GMT, 12pm Argentina, 10am EST)
David Nalbandian/Horacio Zeballos vs Robin Söderling/Robert Lindstedt
[The official version of the draw is that Zeballos will play with Mayer but it's clear by now that David will play the doubles.]
Sunday
Matches start 1pm CET (12pm GMT, 9am Argentina, 7am EST)
Leonardo Mayer vs Robin Söderling
Eduardo Schwank vs Joachim Johansson
I cannot offer you any photos of David at the draw ceremony for the simple reason that David wasn't able to attend it. Usually, players have to be present at the draw ceremony. But the Argentine team was able to get a special permission for David to join the team after the ceremony. (Which is also why his name doesn't appear on the official draw). David is expected to arrive in Stockholm in the early evening.
(Olé)
The matches will be streamed on Bet365.
I'll try to make further stream links available here in time for David's match.
- Or matches? Some of the Argentine sites already proclaim that David will definitely play on Sunday. But I think that La Nacion, who interviewed David directly before he boarded his Lufthansa flight to Europe, are closer to the truth, writing that "depending on the results and how tired he feels after the doubles, he would risk playing the fifth rubber, although he's not back to 100%"...
Update
...Though David obviously feels confident enough about his recovery and current state to fly to Stockholm and play one, if not two live Davis Cup rubbers. After having read all sorts of bits and pieces about how David's late addition to the team came to pass, I'll try now to put together a chronology of events.
As you will remember, last Saturday the news came that Juan Monaco got injured at Acalpulco and that he was out of the tie. (Pico has by now said that if possible, he wants to fly to Stockholm as well to support the team.)
On Monday, David had another ultrasound scan which revealed that the tear he suffered at the Copa Telmex has fully healed. Or at least, that was the verdict of the Argentine doctors who reviewed the scan images. Dr. Ruiz-Cotorro was apparently not consulted this time.
On Tuesday, David and his coach Luis Lobo called Ricardo Rivera (vice-captain of the Argentine Davis Cup team) and informed him that David was "practically recovered" from his injury, asking whether he might still be considered for the team. When Rivera delivered the news to Vázquez, the captain was extremely glad to hear of this development. After calling a meeting with the rest of the team, he invited David to Stockholm - under the condition that he'd first play a full match at home as a proof of his fitness.
Therefore, on Wednesday, David played a test match on an indoor hard court against Argentine player Guido Pella. After that match, David felt confident enough about his health and fitness to declare that he was "better than the rest" (source: Clarin).
So the Argentine team got a special permission for him to join the team at the very last minute. And David got on the plane yesterday to fly to Europe.
Some quotes from David (source: La Nacion)...
Hopefully, they [= the Swedes] will be a little frightened.
I hope that my teammates will be glad to see me and that [my arrival] won't make them feel uncomfortable because they've already been training for a couple of days and they're working hard for Argentina. I'm going to add to the team. I hope I can lend a hand, play and be [the team's] #1 supporter.
I don't know whether it's going to make any difference. We'll have to see how it all turns out. I hope that the team will do well and that [my presence] will generate some doubts among the Swedish team.
A first reaction from Sweden's captain Thomas Enqvist...
If Nalbandian plays, it won't really change too much. He's a class player, but I think it [David being on the team] is more important for Argentina than it is for Sweden.
(Additional sources: Telam 1, 2)
14 comments:
Well the other thing to consider is that the chances of it going to a live fifth rubber are slim really. Especially now that it is confirmed that Pim Pim will play, after all the speculation. He hasn't played in a while but his game is very suited to fast indoor and he is always surprisingly good after long injury breaks, and he's had plenty of those before.
Well, I really hope there won't be a live fifth rubber. I guess it's impossible to predict how well Johansson will be able to play. Or should I say - serve...
I'll just say that the surface apparently isn't as fast as the Argentine team thought it would be. Or at least, that's what Leo Mayer thinks.
I agree that the chances of the fifth rubber being live are slim. But if they are 1-2 after the doubles and the next match due is Mayer v Soderling, is David going to sit on his hands and not volunteer?
So many scenarios. But, really, I think Argentina's chances rest with Mayer and the doubles team. Leo has played 5 tournaments on hard courts this year and a recent win over Gulbis shows he's playing well. I expect him to win Rubber 2. If Argentina is up 2-1 on Sunday all it would take is for David to sub and defeat Pim Pim. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Perhaps, but the doubles team has to win. Can't see Schwank pulling off an upset. David's participation has certainly caused Sweden to scramble. Earlier today on the Swedish DC website, they had Thomas Johansson playing No. 2 singles. Pretty sure Thomas has retired. Then they corrected it to Joachim. Crazy stuff going on.
I think Soderling for sure will win match one. Mayer has to beat Joachim in round 2. Hopefully in the doubles David and Zeballos can mix well and play a good match, but they should win if Soderling plays it because David has a great return, and Robin has bad volleys. I don't know if they can do this, but I would put for day 3, if they are down 1-2 play Schwank-Joachim and David-Soderling, but if they are up 2-1 put David-Joachim. It all depends on what Mayer can do on day 1. Or Schwank could beat Soderling and we win 3-0.
Noubar and I have had a long discussion on all this on Nalby Facebook page. My reactions to all this news has been joy, followed by caution, followed by the hope that David and Robin are both well rested after this tie and in good shape for Indian Wells next week.
The idea of David flying to Sweden and arriving in the evening and then flying to the California Masters on Monday from Sweden (both flights are horrendously long) after playing a couple of matches is nightmarish, when I really think about it. I wish both him and Soda the best fate this weekend, and am happy to see Robin will play the 4th match against Mayer, making a Nalby/Soda 2-2 match impossible. Also, Mayer is the most tested hard court player on the Argentine team, so if Nalby plays on Sunday it will be against Pim Pim, and that might be a great tune-up match for him if the DC is already decided.
I noted this interview with Thomas Enqvist on "We Love You David Nalbandian" FB before reading the news here on Pim Pim's selection:
http://svtplay.se/v/1912466/robin_helgens_stora_stjarna
Reporter: Robin Söderling looked charged on practice today and he's obviously the big star this weekend. But it's still unclear who will play the other singles match. Andreas Vinciguerra is the current pick, but Joachim PimPim Johansson is also practicing and he may replace Vinci.
Enqvist: They've actually both looked good, even though PimPim has played so few matches, he's looked really sharp. Vinci has looked great too, he's played on the ATP tour this last month and performed well, so it looks good. It's a pleasant problem.
Reporter: Who is the one closest to be chosen at the moment?
Enqvist: It's truly 50/50 I think. We'll see how it feels on thursday when we will have to make a decision.
Just for the knowledge: Pim Pim recently defeated Juan Monaco in the Stockholm Open 2009 in late fall and beat Hewitt at Kuala Lumpur last fall too. He was rather successful in the limited ATP level tourneys he played, and he is only 27, so I'm not surprised Enqvist has gone with the veteran. The biggest reason Pim Pim has not been playing competitively is that his wife just delivered their first child. As a fan of both Swedish and Argentine tennis, I already wrote jokingly in earlier posts that at least the Swedish #2 was Vinciguerra instead of Pim Pim. Joachim Johansson is much more of a threat than Vinciguerra would have been, so whereas I would have given Mayer a huge edge over Vinciguerra, I only give him a slight edge over Pim Pim playing at home on Stockholm fast courts.
Pim Pim defeated Juan Monaco in the Stockholm Indoor Open only a couple of months ago. I still give Mayer the edge, because as it has been noted, he has been playing well on the U.S. hard court events. One note from comment on Mayer beating Gulbis above: Although Mayer did beat Gulbis in the First Round of San Jose in early February, that was before Gulbis went on his hot streak. Gulbis defeated Mayer in their last meeting in Delray Beach last week in the QFs on his way to the title. But Mayer has been playing really well, and should be the most battle tested player on the team.
John, yeah, the "Johansson mix-up"... I think they got it from the DC website, where there was the same mistake - before it was corrected.
The problem with the doubles is that David and Zeballos have never played together before. And it's not like they'll have plenty of time to practice... Söderling and Lindstedt on the other hand are an experienced doubles team (though they've played only one DC doubles so far, but they also play on the Tour together). So I'm really not sure whether David and Zeballos will be able to pull it off.
Tim, IW definitely is another thing to be concerned about. And the state David will be in when he arrives there. Apart from the stressful DC weekend and the long flight, there's also the nine-hour time difference... Certainly not the ideal way to prepare for an event like this. In any case, I'm sure than David won't play on Sunday if the tie is already decided. He'll only play a live rubber.
Julia, i read the comments on the previous post about if david can play day 1, i share the same thoughts with u BUT,
it is true that we may c some surprises 2morrow, the Argentine team likes doing last minute changes, maybe it is a good thing so the swede opponent will be shocked at the last moment, and won't have the right instructions from his captain, i know he wont play day 1, but i will not be surprised if i c him playing tomorrow.
I mean, apart from the fact that right now, as I'm writing this, David still hasn't even arrived at Stockholm (and I think it's crazy enough to play the doubles on Saturday), I'm sure that Vázquez will want to save David for Sunday. Anything else would be complete and utter madness in my opinion.
Whereas what David is doing now merely qualifies as "normal" (DC) madness...
true the decision from the first place was a madness.
Some videos of David practising in Sweden:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG5auufkJtY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7HpC0xGyds&feature=player_embedded
There are more videos in the Facebook of the "Seleccion Argentina de Tenis".
Hey, people, I have published David's pics of the Telmex on my site... but I think i've taken a lot of time to edit them...
Thanks for the links Tamar! Great to see him back on the court again.
Post a Comment