Davis Cup Crisis Center

Mornin'. It's a Davis Cup Saturday and that means doubles, with Argentina and Spain poised to clinch their ties. How about that Rafael Nadal, rebounding from that dispiriting loss to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final to absolutely crush Richard Gasquet of France, 3-0-1? Meanwhile, Serbia's Novak  Djokovic took a pass (citing a bad back) on Day 1, the net result of which was that Serbia, at home, is in deep-doo.

So the big question is, will Djokovic drag himself off his sick bed to play in the doubles, in order to keep Serbian hopes alive? Should he do that and be successful, it could be an interesting Sundays with Juan Martin Del Potro and Djokovic meeting in the critical fourth rubber. To my mind, the worst (most painful, not necessarily most one-sided) loss in the semis was the one inflicted upon Janko Tipsarevic. He lost to Delpo in straights, in a mediocre performance at home in Belgrade with much riding on the outcome. Enjoy the doubles everyone!

-- Pete