Hewitt to Open Against Coria in Friday Davis Cup Play
Posted on July 14, 2005
Davis Cup Preview: France at RussiaThe Davis Cup quarterfinals begin this weekend and Tennis-X will preview one tie each day leading to the beginning of play on Friday. Squaring off in the quarterfinals this weekend are the Netherlands at the Slovak Republic, Argentina at Australia, France at Russia, and Romania at Croatia:
France at Russia
Site: Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia
Surface: Clay indoors
Ball Type: Roland Garros French Open
When the two powerhouse nations face off Friday at Olympic Stadium it will be more noteworthy who is not in attendance rather than who is competing on the indoor red clay.
Marat Safin is out after electing to have knee surgery, and Nikolay Davydenko, who has emerged as Russia's claycourt specialist, is iffy with a wrist injury. France's Sebastien Grosjean is skipping the tie citing exhaustion.
"I feel tired, both physically and mentally," Grosjean told L'Equipe. "I need a break."
Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev is playing Davydenko's injury close to his chest.
"We'll wait until Thursday's draw to decide who is going to play," Tarpishchev said regarding the French Open semifinalist.
Davydenko retired during his match at Wimbledon with the wrist, but says it is merely inflammation and not ligament damage.
"I'll be ready to play come Friday and unlike Wimbledon, I'll finish the match no matter what," Davydenko said. "I can promise you that."
The injuries could leave Russia struggling with the "B"-team of Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev.
France's captain Guy Forget is expected to unveil talented 19-year-old breakout player Richard Gasquet in his Davis Cup debut, alongside choke-artist Paul-Henri Mathieu, a questionable choice over veteran Arnaud Clement or former No. 1-ranked junior Gael "Force" Monfils. Clement and Michael Llodra are likely to fill the Saturday doubles role for France.
For a player making his Davis Cup debut, Gasquet is in the unique position of virtually controlling the outcome of the tie. The teen is 1-0 versus Davydenko, beating him this year on clay at Monte Carlo, 0-1 versus Youzhny in a meeting that took place 2-1/2 years ago, and 0-1 versus Andreev with a meeting last year on grass at Queen's.
In the previous meeting of the two countries, in the 2002 final, France's Mathieu choked a 2-0 sets lead against Youzhny in the fifth and deciding singles rubber.
Russia won its lone Davis Cup title in 2002, while France has won three during the Open Era in 2001, '96, and '91.
Top-seeded Schiavone Bakes Bagel at WTA Modena
Francesca Schiavone mowed over Spaniard Marta Marrero 6-0, 6-0 Wednesday to move into the quarterfinals at the WTA stop in Modena, attempting to end her career title jinx (0-2 in career finals) at her homecountry event.
It was the second double bagel for Marrero after eating Venus Williams' baked goods in Istanbul.
Other winners into the quarters were No. 5 seed Anna Smashnova (d. Parra Santonja, bagel in the second), 16-year-old Hungarian qualifier Agnes Szavay (d. Ondraskova), and France's Emilie Loit (d. Bychkova in three).
Looking to fill the remaining QF spots Thursday in Modena are Garbin vs. Kostanic, Yan vs. Mamic, Diaz-Oliva vs. Sucha, and Vesnina vs. Pennetta.
X-CORRECT
The Steffi Graf-led World Team Tennis Houston Wranglers lost to the Sacramento Capitals Tuesday night...Patrick Rafter made an appearance in Sydney to train with the Aussie Davis Cup team last week...Lleyton Hewitt will become Mr. Bec Cartwright on July 21.
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Marat Safin's "keyhole" knee surgery was reportedly successful and the Russian is currently undergoing rehabilitation with a goal of playing the US Open...Boris Becker pulled from the World Team Tennis' Hartford FoxForce with a knee injury, and will be replaced in the line-up by Mark Philippoussis...Andy Roddick has one Top 10 win in grand slam play -- ever. Are our interns correct? If so, pretty amazing...SI.com's Jon Wertheim says jumping up and down for joy in front of your opponent (for five minutes) is fine if you've had a tough go of it of late: "You know I've come down hard on Serena's lapses in grace, but I disagree on this one. Please consider the context and think of what Venus has been through the past few years -- her flagging results are the least of it. Her unmitigated, unadulterated joy is understandable, even if an unfortunate by-product was her forgetting to acknowledge (before Sue Barker gracefully prodded her) the presence of her opponent."...Lleyton Hewitt will face Guillermo Coria, and Wayne Arthurs takes on David Nalbandian when Australia and Argentine kick off their Davis Cup clash Friday: "I have a good feeling about our team, about the players," Nalbandian said. "I think we're going to win this." Australian captain John Fitzgerald says forget Andy Roddick, Hewitt is the man behind Roger Federer on grass: "It's not bad to lead off with a player who I think it's fair to say that outside of Roger Federer is the best grasscourter in the world," Fitzgerald said...Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty leads off against "Everybody Loves" Raemon Sluiter, and Karol Beck faces Peter "Nuclear" Wessels Friday in the Dutch vs. Slovak tie. Dutch captain Tjerk Bogtstra sprung a surprise by bringing Paul Haarhuis out of retirement for the Saturday doubles...Andre Agassi, in response to a campaign by Nevada resident Gil Eisner, says he will not run for Congress: "While I am flattered by the recent effort to draft me to run for Congress, I presently have no plans to enter the political arena. I will continue to focus my efforts on tennis, my foundation and my family."