24/7, Minus 2:30
Waggish poster Grace put up this comment at my last entry:
Hi Pete!
Since you said that you will be posting about FedCup tomorrow, I have a question for you regarding the Belgium-Russia tie.
Here it goes... After Henin-Hardenne won her rubber against Dementieva, the Belgian team opened a champagne bottle to celebrate their victory. Was the champagne they used the same with the ones Kim Clijsters gave out during the Antwerp tournament earlier this year?
Just a thought that popped out of my mind. You don't really have to answer it. :)
Man, you folks neither forgive nor forget, do you? I got a kick out of that comment and I also think it underscored what a feel-good weekend it was for Fed Cup and its fans (unless, of course, you’re from France or Russia).
In a better world than ours, this could have been the week that does for Fed Cup what the 1958 New York Giants vs.Baltimore Colts overtime championship game at Yankee Stadium did for the NFL, or what the Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall five-set championship match at the WCT Dallas finals of 1975 did for pro tennis.
We know better, don’t we?
While everyone’s got their shorts in a bunch over the Wimbledon equal prize money issue (I’ll be posting on that later), a competition that should be the crown jewel of women’s pro sports, and an international marker on the degree to which female tennis players have leveled the gender playing field, is roundly ignored. You can read the official post-mortems here.
I thought the Belgium-Russia tie was emblematic of what Fed Cup (or Davis Cup) does best, which is carry players and spectators away on a great wave of team and patriotic spirit – the latter in the best sense, which is the celebration of who we (any “we” on earth) are, of our extended social family.
Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters really did appear to be enjoying themselves – and each other. I’m glad the celebration called for champagne, instead of saucers of milk. And that bit about Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne volunteering to play doubles for the fans who bothered to stick around – that was the kind of classy move you rarely see in tennis anymore, because everything is all business and the motto of most players is “yes, as a matter of fact it is all about me, 24/7.” It was nice to see 24/7, Minus 2:30.
Like some comment posters, I had a lot of trouble with the Russian's decision to substitute Maria Kirilenko for Nadia Petrova in the absolutely crucial first match on Sunday (the tie was 1-1 at that stage). I guess Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev wanted to go old school, and teach Kirilienko to swim by flinging her off the dock. Into deep water. Frigid water. Did I mention shark-infested water?
The thing I found truly puzzling was Nadia Petrova’s bailout (TennisWorld’s resident Fed Cup analyst Ruthie seems to think she had a groin injury, but not a word was said about that, officially. So I have my doubts). I'd love to know if it was Petrova crying, "No Mas" or Tarpischev thinking, "Now that we've got them thinking Petrova, I think I'll really throw them off balance by bringing in our secret weapon, Kirilenko!"
Anyone out there read the Russian press?
Sure, Petrova lost a tough three-setter to DoubleH on Day 1, but so what? She was tired. So what? Failing to answer the bell on Day 2 goes against the Fedvis Cup gestalt. To some players, a Day 1 loss is just fuel to fire a Day 2 breakout. One of the great things about Fedvis Cup is that it offers a resurrection option that makes for some of the finest - and most inspiring - drama in tennis.
E.G.: Janette Husarova of the Slovak Republic gets crushed by former Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez of Spain’s Golden Squad, but bounces back to clinch Slovakia ‘s first and only Fed Cup - on Spain’s court, no less - with an improbably 6-0,6-2 shelling of multiple Grand Slam champ Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.
Or how about Arnaud Boetsch’s Davis Cup saga in 1996? He was straight-setted by Sweden’s No . 1, Thomas Enqvist, in the second match of the tie. France hung in, but Cedric Pioline, with a chance to clinch for France, was upended by Enqvist in the fourth match. So France’s No. 2 Boetsch ends up winning the Cup for France with a 10-8 in the fifth win over Nicklas Kulti.
How about Flavia Pennetta on Sunday, clinching Italy's upset of France after getting waxed by Amelie Mauresmo on Day 1.
I know what some of you are thinking, Kulti? Husarova? Boetsch? Pennetta, Who cares? If you don't get it, I can't explain - guess it's just a Fedvis Cup thing. . .
But many of the rest of us celebrate those otherwise unheralded journey(wo)men. They are part of FC lore and legend.
You can add two more names that roll now: Jackson and Craybas. I don’t care if the Belgians crush the U.S. in the next round; this win over powerhouse Germany (okay, okay, Germany’s not that great) was a wonderful moment. How old-school is the remark U.S. captain Zina Garrison made when it was all over?
**
The U.S. squad was a curious anomaly, led by a 31-year old veteran (Jill Craybas)with limited Fed Cup experience (she's 0-2, one singles and one doubles; her picture isn't even on the Fed Cup website's roster page). The supporting cast consisted of raw rookies: Jamea Jackson, Shenay Perry, and Vania King (a 17-year old amateur).
Jackson, who won both her singles (including the tie-clinching match) made one of the most auspicious debuts in Fedvis Cup history. Ranked No. 75, she beat No. 14 Anna-Lena Groenefeld to open the tie, and then throttled surprise sub Martina Muller to clinch it.
How good is that performance? Well, Pete Sampras got one set in two matches in his Davis Cup debut. Granted, it was a final (in Lyon, France), and France had two quality players in Henri Leconte and Guy Forget. But getting thrown off the deep end is just that; so what if the water’s 56 feet instead of 34, or 28?
So you had the catfight-turned-lovefest narrative in one tie, Rocky XXIII in another. Want to try for How Far the Mighty Hath Fallen? That would be the tale of the way a game Italian squad brought down a French club that had been to the final three years running (and champs in 2003, over the U.S.).
Italian women may be the best kept secret in pro tennis. They’re consistently competitive players with loads of personality and this wonderfully blasé manner. You want to hear someone tell you what she (or he) really thinks? Go find yourself an Italian player.
Francesca Schiavone is a seasoned, cagy, veteran who brought all her wiles to bear in the critical singles match with Amelie Mauresmo (first match of Day 2, with the tie at 1-1). Schiavone won in three tough sets, after which she declared it the most “beautiful” win of her career. This set up Pennetta's Husarova moment, and Flavia (that's the feminine of Flavor Flav) made the most of it.
Still, if you're French and wondering if Amelie Mauresmo has really gotten over her home crowd jitters, this tie was a setback. If you're Mauresmo in that situation, you just don't lose to Schiavone, period.
Next, Italy travels to Spain (which swept Austria in the only ho-hum tie of the World Group), while the U.S. girls visit Belgium. I like Italy to get to the finals.
Does anyone out there really think Belgium has a chance against the U.S.?