The Day After...

Update (09/03)
According to Fue Buena, David "arrived in Los Angeles at 5.30pm yesterday and rented a car to travel to Indian Wells. His left hamstring is okay but he still feels some pain in his right adductor and therefore there'll be an ultrasound scan today. But he still thinks that he'll be fine and able to play at Indian Wells."


As I'm writing this, David's brief but very eventful visit to Stockholm is already over. According to the well-informed Fue Buena blog (thanks, Tamar and Anna), by now David is on his way to California where he will rest for a couple of days before the start of the next tournament - the Masters at Indian Wells. (First round matches begin on Thursday.)

At first, there was talk of David doing another ultrasound scan in the U.S. to determine whether he would be able to play. But by now it seems that David and both his right and his left leg are in better shape after yesterday's match than initially feared. And that the scan has been cancelled.
(Photo: Arne Forsell/Davis Cup website)

More photos on the photo page.

Yesterday's match marked the 12th time David was able to win a rubber during an away tie (four of those wins having come in doubles.) Though of course he never had to play a rubber with such little preparation before.
Apart from that, David's singles victory has won him 40 ranking points, enough to take a 15-place leap forward in the rankings. As of today, David is ranked #139.

Update (also 09/03)
Andvari (thank you so much!) has recorded the match. You can download it here (flv format):

Set 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8BUAKF0A
Set 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9P0EACIV
Set 3: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PMKTTP0I
Set 4: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H4E8C4UJ

In the meantime, Andvari has also uploaded the doubles match:

Part 1: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S5M7EV28
Part 2: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4RJ2M3UZ


Here's a look back at yesterday's match.
First up, match highlights (thanks, Andvari).



And the final game and celebration (thanks, Tim).




Some quotes from David after the match...

During the warm-up, I felt a spasm in my left leg and I was on the verge of not playing. In the end, I decided to take the risk because of my passion [for Davis Cup] and because I love playing for my country. From the start, it was a very weird tie and what I did was madness. I didn't even train together with the other guys who were working really hard. But for your country you do spontaneous things like that. I didn't play because I was feeling good. It was a decision made out of instinct and passion.

I had to make a lot of adjustments [during the match]. On top of that, at the end of the first set, I again felt some discomfort in the right adductor. But it never crossed my mind to retire. What was going through my head when I lost the third set? That I have to win the fourth. I tried to finish the points as quickly as possible, to win them at the first chance I got, and it worked.

I'm happy because we've managed to win a very difficult tie. The strategy was clear and we achieved everything we wanted. The guys did a fantastic job, they handled the situation of playing for their country very well. And for my part, the [singles] match I played was much more difficult than I thought it would be because I didn't get to play against a strong server [Johansson] but Vinciguerra still varied his serve really well and it was hard for me to find the return. I'm glad that Argentina is in the quarterfinal.

I'm calm now because I'm shattered. Right now, I'm completely broken, finished, everything hurts. I hope that I'll be able to recover within two or three days when I get to Indian Wells and that I'll be able to put in a good performance, there.

With this tie we were very unlucky, because there were so many injuries. Against Russia [in the quarterfinal] we'll have to have the best possible team. It would be good if Juan Martin and I could be there and if it was possible to form a [fixed] doubles team, because this time I had to play two consecutive days, and I don't think I can play on all three days. But we will all try to do our best. (Source: La Nacion)

David should know what to expect. After all, it'll be his fifth tie against Russia. With the most memorable one certainly being the lost 2006 final. Generally speaking, beating the Russians at home isn't exactly easy. The last time a visiting team won a tie in Moscow was fifteen years ago.
But as this last weekend has once again shown - the rules of logic or statistics don't apply when it comes to David and Davis Cup...


(Fabian Gastiarena)

Last but not least, David explains the basic difference between Swedes and Argentines: "The people here are very respectful and we are very noisy."
(Also from La Nacion.)

But now on to Indian Wells...