(EFE)
At 7-5, 5-0 for Arnaud Clement in the fifth rubber today, umpire Carlos Ramos had to ask Horacio Zeballos for help. In the stands behind his chair, there was a noisy party going on, the Argentine fans singing and celebrating, with Michael Llodra right there with them. On court, Tito Vázquez was moved to tears by this last display of support. Minutes later, Clement sealed the fifth victory for France of this weekend and the whitewash for Argentina. Still, both teams parted on very amiable terms, with lots of hugs and the exchange of many nice words. The only one who missed both the party in the stands and the friendly end of this tie was David. He left after the fourth rubber to get on the way back home.
On Friday, after the defeat against Monfils, David's criticism of Tito Vázquez sent a shock wave through the Argentine press and public, big enough to put Argentina's captain into question. David's criticism concerned Tito's choice of Juan Monaco as singles player and not Eduardo Schwank, which would've granted David the #1 position and a first match against Llodra instead of Monfils. However, before the match David seemed quite confident that he would beat Monfils, saying his negative record against him wouldn't stay like that for much longer. After the lost match however, David thought that a first-day encounter between him and Monfils should've been avoided at any price, basically saying that Vázquez was to blame for his defeat, for "not having had the guts" to play Schwank instead of Monaco. A dubious statement to say the least but in any case one that should've remained behind closed doors.
Before leaving for Argentina today, David took a moment to do some major back-pedalling...
There are no problems between Tito and me, my words have been misinterpreted, everything is perfect and the dream is to win the Davis Cup.But is everything perfect now? Or has it ever been - after all, David wasn't too happy when the AAT appointed Vázquez as Mancini's successor, as David (and a couple of others) wanted David's former coach Martin Jaite for the job. Later, there was the meeting between David and Delpo that Vázquez promised but failed to set up, which prompted David to say that "Tito should stop talking crap" (see post). Back then, the AAT considered sanctions against David but Vázquez spoke against it.
I talked about what we talked about on Wednesday. There was nothing fixed, it was all uncertain, so the risk could've been taken [of playing Schwank] but Tito didn't want to. It could've worked out but it didn't. I'm not unhappy with Tito, on Wednesday he told us that he wouldn't take that risk.
The tie was even, bad luck, have to wait for another year. We had a good year, if you look at the team, we made it in Sweden, we made it in Russia and with injured players, Pico, Delpo and also myself. It's been a good year in terms of the results, it's not all bad now because we've lost. We didn't make it, although we prepared well for this tie. I'm hoping for a good draw and that we'll get to play at home. We have a very good team and hopefully, we'll also have a bit of luck.
(Source.)
Perhaps, this Davis Cup season with the great victories at Stockholm and Moscow would've deserved a better end than this - and not just in terms of the score. David's obsession with his beloved Copa Davis will, as always, remain unchanged. That much is certain. But what the next year will bring, when Delpo returns to the team - and with him the apparently still unresolved problems between David and him - who knows.
The Davis Cup madness continues next March.
Watch David tank in Wimbledon next year to get ready for the Davis Cup quarters that will either be lost or won so that Argentina can lose in a later round.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for my cynicism, but this is too frustrating. There were two things that hampered this season for Nalbandian: injuries and DC obsession. We know the latter will continue next year after this debacle, hopefully the former will not, however.
Time for Tokyo already.
And Julia, do you know, or do you sense, that Nalbandian will likely enter Vienna? We know he'll do Tokyo, Shanghai, and Paris, and he always does Basel because he loves the venue. But do you think he'll do Vienna? That would be a nice title for him to reel in.
I think next year there'll probably be DC drama of a different kind...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I can't sense David's moves or decisions but I think he might play Vienna. He went there often in the past and was scheduled to play it last year. So I think there could be a deal about a WC, made before his ranking went up. There's a press conference next week, then we might get to know more.
@Chris,
ReplyDeleteExpect the English-speaking press to be all over this once again-this time, with more venom than before.
For Federer is Davis Cup nothing, for David even more important than Wimbledon. But in Wimbledon I think he won't ever have a chance because it's a tournament for good servers. I don't know how he has moved itno the final in 2002.
ReplyDeleteDavid has to improve his first service at first!!! I think he should enter all important tournaments like Stockholm, Vienna and Basel, but hoope that he will play good in Masters Series [and maybe in Masters Cup 2010?????:)]
ReplyDeleteI have never seen David playing in Tokyo. He was injured last year, I know. Has he been playing there in 2008 or not? I think he was not injured during that time because he won in Stockholm in the following week.
ReplyDeleteHe played Tokyo once, back in 2004.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear Julia's input on this, but I can't see Nalbandian playing Stockholm and Vienna. It will be one or the other.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the wiser choice would be Vienna, since Stockholm is right after Shanghai and to play Tokyo, then Shanghai, and then to take the long flight all the way to Sweden to play a third week in a row seems a bit too much.
To play Stockholm and Vienna seems impossible. That would mean six straight weeks of tennis, which is too much.
We know he's doing Tokyo, Shanghai, Basel, and Paris. The question is if he'll add a fifth in between Shanghai and Basel, which will either be Stockholm or Vienna. Either way, he has an opportunity to pick up a TON of points before the season ends with nothing to defend.
We'll see which events he'll play. Probably not both. Stockholm also has a stronger field.
ReplyDeleteI'm still thinking about the tie. And I have to agree with those who're saying it's David who's at fault here. If he wants to be the team leader, then that also means accepting responsibility when things aren't going well. And not blaming others or just walking away.
@Ashot He reached the final back then because he had a very nice draw, just like when he made it to the 2005 QF of Wimbledon.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I think in the big picture, he miscalculated in thinking they could win it without Del Potro. That being said, he wants the Davis Cup goal done with and he went for it. He didn't back up his talk and his planning by beating Monfils, however. For them to beat France, he needed to beat Monfils and then win his second rubber. He didn't.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a year when Nalbandian should've just said, "we're not going to be able to do it this year and I need to just focus on resurrecting my own career," this was it. He screwed his entire spring by going to play Vinciguerra. And then he put off Roland Garros and, more disturbingly, Wimbledon for the Russia tie. And what was it all for? To flop against France after having skipped Grand Slams to be ready for Davis Cup.
What I can't understand is how David thinks the primary way he can make Argentines proud of him is to win Davis Cup. When Delpo won the USO, people in Argentina went nuts. Likewise, the Spanish people take great pride in Nadal's individual accomplishments, especially winning Wimbledon. Whenever David plays at a big event, there are Argentines waving the flag and singing "olay olay olay". In Davis Cup, he has to rely on Vazquez and the doubles partners. In a GS or Masters Event, there is no one else to screw up. He is in complete control. Why not just win those events and allow Argentinians to be proud of that?
Frankly, I'm still disgusted by David's behavior at the tie. For him to leave before it was even finished was inexcusable and against everything that is team spirit. IMO, David needs to be removed from the team. As a fan of David for many years, it pains me to say that, but unless he starts acting like a team member, he should not be on that team.
ReplyDeleteOh, and he's pathologically obsessed with Davis Cup; it's not a normal obsession. This one title that eludes him causes him to rearrange his entire schedule in hopes he (yes, he, not the team) will finally win it. It's not healthy, this obsession of his, and a Davis Cup title will continue to elude him if he does not let go of the obsession and focus on other aspects of his tennis career (for example, the main tour).
After his latest display of poor behavior, it may already be too late for him to reach that goal - all because he has a strangle hold on it and can't seem to act logically or rationally. Very disappointing to see, really. Nearing the end of a lengthy career, a fan would hope to see something better than this from a guy that really does have a lot more to offer than the behavior he's shown this past weekend.
I agree with your comments, Julia. The photo of David with his mates and Tito says it all. He's the sourpuss. Monfils played great, but was beatable if David stayed focused. Losing serve to start the 3rd set and 6 straight games from 3-0 in the 4th is inexcusable. Whether he played Llodra first or not, he still would have had to beat Monfils for Argentina to win the tie. Carping from the team leader doesn't cut it. And leaving early? No way. Since Washington I've never seen David smash so many rackets. I think the obsession to win the DC has gotten to him. Still, what he's done since winning Legg Mason is great. Perhaps he should watch the Roddick-Tipsarevic match at the U.S. Open. Janko was like a Zen Master, calm, cool and collected. Totally focused, totally honed in. He drove Andy nuts. David's got to realize no one player can win the DC alone.
ReplyDeleteWhat Nalbandian needs to realize is that he and Delpo have to be playing well - together - for them to have a sure chance at winning it.
ReplyDeleteI guess I just want to say this.
ReplyDeleteWinning DC would mean making sports history in Argentina. Long before Gaudio and then Delpo came with their Slam titles, Vilas won pretty much everything there is to win. So none of that was really new. But DC is the one title they're lacking and it's a title they care about - a lot. So it's not like David has this weird obsession with some quaint little title nobody else around him could be bothered with.
David has been accused before of acting selfishly when it comes to DC. So far, I've always defended him against such allegations. But what happened last weekend tells a different story. He managed to turn this tie into a drama about himself and about his needs that were being overlooked. As if his troubles were more important than the team. And as if his chances to beat Monfils would've been completely different, two days later. That's just not okay.
The same goes for just leaving. Not only did he miss the end of the tie and the traditional team meeting afterwards, David also didn't think it necessary to talk to Vázquez before he left. When Tito Vázquez was appointed captain I was skeptical, most of all because I had no idea who he was. But in time I've come to respect him for his way of doing this very difficult job. And if he now calls what David has done a "circus" and says that he's tired of these "absurd antics" - then I think he has every right to call it just that.
So now there's still a score left to settle between David and Vázquez. - Make that two when Delpo returns next season. After the whole 2008 final fiasco, David was finally back to being the "good guy" in DC. And in Sweden and Russia he was the undisputed leader. But it's easy to be the glorious leader when it's all going well. This weekend in France, it wasn't so easy. And all I can say is - I'm disappointed. Not because David lost his match or Argentina lost the tie. But because of how David dealt, or rather chose not to deal with the whole situation.
Bad and childisch behaviour from David, no respect for his teammates and his captain...he refused to be interviewed by Nelson Monfort (a french journalist) during the double...Monaco accepted with a smile even if he was worried to see his mates loosing...Zeballos accepted too...David showed us his worst part, the dark one. Really sad to see him acting like that
ReplyDelete