Davis Cup Crisis Center

by Pete Bodo

Hi. I just thought I'd flip a wink at all you sentimentalists who remember the early days of this weblog, when the "Crisis Center" posts were a daily feature during Grand Slam, Masters 1000 and Davis and Fed Cup events. Those posts, which really launched the TW tradition of match-calling in the comments section, were the brainchild of the late Amy Heskew, known to most of you as just Steggy. We still remember and will always miss her.

But on to happier thoughts on this flood-watch day here in game-rich Andes, New York, where I'm staring at a (newly delivered) 13-and-a-half foot lime green kayak lying on its side in a hammering rain on a masssive snowbank. The vibe is kind of surreal.

Anyway, it's going to be a big day for Marin Cilic, one way or another. He's playing in front of a home crowd in Davis Cup-mad Zagreb, Croatia, against his counterpart No. 1 on the German squad, Philipp Kohlshcreiber. At stake: the tie, the winner of which advances to the World Group quarterfinals while the loser mostlikely plays in the playoffs (relegation round) in the fall. Players and pundits always talk about the pressure they feel during Davis Cup, which is created by a combination of factors including a heightened sense of patriotic responsibility, a desire to come through for the captain and team and team as well as the homeland, and the electric, frestive to frenzied atmosphere that enlivens most Davis Cup ties.

For my money, Cilic is in the toughest spot in all of DC—playing before a home crowd, with survival on the line, against a guy who's beatable, but by no means a gimme. It's gut-check time for Marin.

It may suprise you to learn that Kohlschreiber, despite being ranked 15 places below Cilic at No. 35, has more or less had his number; Kohlschreiber leads in the H2H 4-2. At 27, Kohlschreiber is five years older than Cillic, and two of those four wins were recorded in tough-three setters in 2007 and 2008. That age differential is something that can skew a H2H, which is why it' always good to check the dates as well as the scores in these H2H records. Still, Kohlschreiber won the last time the players met, at Metz in 2010. Game on.

And a hat tip to Austria, for the way Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle came back to beat Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra in yesterday's doubles, to keep Austria's hopes alive. I guess Austria could still win this thing, but the chances are slim indeed. Melzer might beat Gilles Simon, but I see no way hoary Stefan Koubek can waylay Jeremy Chardy. Unless of course, Chardy, Friday's hero, chokes.

This being Davis Cup, don't think it can't happen. I'll be back tomorrow with a thumbs-up/thumbs-down post on the weekend warriors.