The Deuce Club, 2.14

By Heidi Kim, TW Contributing Writer

MarieJ in right dc shoes (or just MarieJ) sent in this lovely photo of the Davis Cup in the Zagreb Museum of Fine Arts.  This must be the 2005 cup from Croatia's win over Slovakia, away on an indoor hard court.  It was an exciting final, with Ljubicic taking the first singles win in 3 sets over Kucera, but then Ancic falling to Dominic Hrbaty.  Ljubicic and Ancic then took the doubles, and Ljubicic too fell to the man with two holes in his shirt, leaving Ancic to clinch the cup with a win in 3 sets over Mertinak.  A good example, perhaps, of the fact that one man cannot win a DC alone.

If you look closely at the cup, you can just see MarieJ and her sister reflected.  You'll have to ask MarieJ in the comments just when and why she was in Croatia, as I do not know.  I love that the cup is in the Fine Arts museum rather than a historical society or some small hall off a main tennis facility (unless this was some kind of special exhibition?).

My brother was in Croatia a few years ago, and visited Split, Goran Ivanisevic's hometown; he found t-shirts with Goran's face printed on them for sale everywhere.  The Croatian version said "Goran Genius" and the English version said "I am Genius."  Modest... and hilarious.

Croatia has had a great tradition of players, hasn't it?  Cilic may carry that on.  I love it but admittedly don't look forward to the ruckus if a Serbian should meet a Croatian at the AO (or anywhere else, but that Slam with its freely flowing beer seems a little more prone to ruckus).  Well, no need to dwell on that on a happy day like Valentine's Day!

Enjoy the day, and enjoy the off-topic banter in this thread!  As always, I urge you to send in photos to share -- and they don't have to be tennis-related.

(M. Seabra, if you're reading, please email me your photos again.)