Davis Cup 2017

@LK
just listening to mark petchy and john inverdale 
davis cup may be changing from best of 5 sets to best of 3 sets,the decision will be made in august in vietnam ( of all places??!! )
but petchy reckons that it wont make much of a difference drawing the bigger names to play the tournament
he thinks that they could still be put off wanting to play if they have to travel to a destination thats too inconvenient for the player plus the possibility of having to adjust to a different surface 
there was however talk about possibly having the event every second year or as 1 event played for a month straight rather then several weekends throughout the year like you mentioned before
but petchy thinks that the DC would still a tough sell without the big names in the game

the other conversation was about the junior players...it costs about a hundred grand a year to develop a juniors player!! thats way too much,theres no guarantee that a juniors player will make it as a pro..
when i lived back in s.a i knew a guy wayne whithouse who won juniors wimbledon in 1997 but never made it as a pro
he was however being sponsored

Vee,

Interesting. I don't think Petchey is factoring in that the big names is not the biggest issue facing the competition. The very fact they are addressing the format says to me that not only will that be more attractive to the players, but the fans too.

I agree about the final being in a neutral venue not working. I don't think the DC quite has the profile to make that profitable and attractable to the fans. Plus the fans are not 'tribal' as such as compared with say football fans. Seats essentially would go to the nationals of said venue.

The junior player stat doesn't surprise me. One of the biggest criticisms thrown at the LTA was the amount of money they pumped into fledgling youngsters. On top of that the wildcards Wimbledon threw at waster UK players. For me they need to measure outcomes based on progress. There is a small window in which a promising junior has to be able to convert that promise into sustained talent. It's a lot of pressure to cope with.

well obviously they think that trying something new may help boost the popularity (or lack thereof)  of the event but we wont know how successful the changes will be until its tried and tested
i actually think that dedicating a month or maybe just 2 weeks straight to having the event from start to finish would be a better idea then having it every second year cause even if it were every second year,the players would still need to take the time out from their busy schedules 
i just dont understand why it costs so much to develop a young talent into a pro player
i recall that a gold medal winner at the 2012 london olympics cost almost £5million's worth of funding to make that happen 
other sports were even more expensive 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/datablog/2012/aug/13/olympics-2012-cost-per-medal-team-gb-funding

OK, here comes Davis Cup 2017 semi-final.

France-Serbia
Belgium-Australia

After Nole's withdrawal post Wimbledon, DC ambitions of the rest of Serbia's team fell apart, Troicki cancelled, too.
Not sure why Tipsarevic is not playing, probably injured.

Shame as I wanted new captain Zimonjic to have a trophy as a captain, too.

Anyway, our C team turned up n Lille, where the French have organised a grand setting in a football stadium (was the final played there the other year?)

First match tomorrow Pouille-Nobody-bagels-Dusan-Lajovic, the SBH Pride of Serbia

I am not sad we are going to lose to France as I love it. That slamless brilliant generation of players deserves some kind of crown.

The other match Belgium- Australia is going to be much closer as both Goffin and Kyrgios are playing.

Neither are 100%.








Should be some good matches, as Davis Cup rarely fails to deliver!

I miss the good days of spain at davis cup

its a pitty that serbia comes without their main stars, but I would never count serbia out, they have special gen for competition
France has a solid team, and they play hom, it would be a hard task for any country A team really.

between belgium and australia, I dont know what to think, but I prefer belium to win, but any outcome will be interesting

We have no chance this time, which is fine.
I want France to win the whole thing.

Part of me (the Gofin liking one) wants Belgium in the final, but another part (the Ozzie spirit of Rod Laver) wouldn't mind Australia either esp as they'd bring the big name of N. Kyrgios who loves spectacle.

So it's a win-win.

I already look forward to the final, as I am a big fan of Davis Cup.

It's always beautiful to watch, whoever wins, anyone remembers last year's heroics from Delpo?

Anyway...allow me to indulge myself in this blast from the past:



2010 was a horrible year for Nole, and in a way this win pribably saved his tennis life.

I watched the matches yesterday on TV!!!
What luxury...can't remember last time I saw anything on tv...

Anyway, Lajovic-Pouille was very tense and nervous. Low quality as a result, but some nice points and shots.

Pouille was consumed with nerves and pressure, I can see that is his Achilles heel.
unlike his oppinent, Lajo, the Serbian SBH legend, played his best tennis.

He had foot cramps in the last game but survived. Had to live with 4 match points gone by...but credit to Lucas for saving them, 3 were consecutive!!!(on his serve)

The French made a mistake of choosing clay, as all the Serbs can play well on it, most courts we've always had were on clay.

Djere-Tsonga (3:0) looked easier than it was as Djere had a break up in the first set and was unlucky in the TB.

Sets 2&3 were only one break of serve.

I had never seen Djere play before and he did very well.
So composed for a 22 year old, competed well, he made us all proud.

I like this Serbian tram, it is charming, low key and going nowhere in a way, but fighting well and walking tall.

Tsonga was lucky he played Djere, as he could relax and play some good tennis at times.

But all in all, nothing memorable.

I'd like doubles match to provide that, but really very little chance of that despite Ziki's experience and quality.

Didn't see Belgium - Oz, Goffin struglged but won, Kyrgios came from two sets down vs Darcis.
(Anyone remember him beating Nadal 3:0 at Wimbledon?)

Beautiful fight from Dusan The Lion Lajovic.

The SBH Pride of Serbia! 

And Tsonga beat Dusan, France goes to the final.

Beautiful scenes of celebration and fair play.

Tsonga finally gets the chance to connect with the French crowd after his loss to Ferrer in RGSF (2013?) and lives up to number one player, scoring two clutch wins.

Noah, as always great comedy valye on his captain's chair. Hi face is so expressive.
What can I say...bone chance pour le finale!

Nice to see Serbia lose, now they will value Djoko more 

I am happy to have a break from Nole.

Incl Davis Cup.
It was nice to see this decent team...with manners, without antics. Giving everything and fighting. Not a shot or a heartbeat less than Nole.
Little Serbia with her little players playing beautifully.

Again, this reminds me of Nadal and his stench. What is the worth of his wins?

As I posted once: 

Winners, what have you won? 
Losers, what have you lost?

....

Nole's got a lot of thinking to do. He needs to grow.
And leave buddism. 
Deal with his fears.

He is a mess.

But too many dwarfs around him.
His granddad is gone, Jelena Gencic is gone.

Who is left to hold his hand?

Who is she? Where are her tits?