Deadlocked!

Mornin', everyone. I had hectic day yesterday—after watching Gael Monfils channel his inner warrior to earn France a critical W in the first rubber of the Davis Cup final, I had to tear apart my television/Internet setup and swap out both boxes (modem and cable box) for newer, better equipment. All happened because my download speed for the computer has slowly become intolerably slow.

Now I have a "blazing fast" modem and a High Def box to go with our High Def TV. By the way, what's High Def? Sounds like something to do with the Beastie Boys. All I know about our relatively new TV is that it makes a tennis court look wider than it is long. That's weird, but I'm cool with it because the TV is so light and thin.

I felt for Janko Tipsarevic yesterday, and will commit some of my thoughts on that to the ether tonight or tomorrow. But there goes my pick of a 3-0 blowout by the home team. I kind of like the way the the home team spells the nation SRBJIA, although the less well-educated among us might be apt to be wondering, "How come Djokovic is playing for those guys, I thought he was from Serbia?" I think the Srbijan license plate ought to read, "The Consonant Nation." I like the ring of that.

Anyway, it looks like Forget's decision to hold back Michael Llodra so that he'll be 100 per cent ready for the doubles was a wise one, much as I and others second-guessed it. While my feeling was that Forget basically conceded two singles in order to improve the team's chances in doubles, I'm starting to think something like the opposite is true—that he felt certain that Monfils would give France that vital first day point, and thereby give France a great chance to go into the decisive reverse-singles day with a 2-1 lead. By splitting yesterday's matches, the French ratcheted up the pressure on the Serbs, who apparently are toying with the idea of inserting Djokovic in the doubles. That to me would be a panic move doomed to backfire. How do you spell "dijsastjer?"

I probably failed to see the value of Forget's strategy for two reasons: My basic philosophy is that you don't look two, three matches ahead. You put your best guys out there, win as many rubbers or matches as fast and cleanly as you can, and worry about the rest as it comes down the pike. But also, I was not nearly as confident about Monfils' ability to nail down that first rubber as was Forget. I just never trust Monfils' ability to buckle down and get a job done. I've always felt he's too much of a ham, and is too content to play reactive tennis.

In a sense, Forget found the one exploitable crack in the psychological fortress of Serbia, and today Llodra and Arnaud Clement stick their crowbars into it and try to bring the walls tumbling down. A 2-1 lead for France going into Day 3 would supercharge the proceedings in Belgrade.

Enjoy the tennis and feel free to comment on the doubles here. And make sure you check out Tom Perrotta's on-site coverage of the tie. I thought he nailed it in his post yesterday, and I hope he gets adequate comment-love over this weekend.

-- Pete