Smells Like Team Spirit

While a normal singles or doubles tennis match is simply player versus player, a team competition has an added dimension. The player no longer only plays for himself or herself; instead, the win or loss is counted as part of the entire effort by the team. Yet the player can't have someone else serve, or hit returns, or put away a ball; it's still very much mano a mano, but a win from one player can offset a teammate's loss. Overall, though, one team will still have to win more matches than the opposing team.

That's what Russia's Fed Cup team did last weekend, defeating France in a closely-fought rematch of last year's final which was held in Moscow. This year, the setting was Roland Garros in Paris, home of the French Open and thousands of French fans. Played in a best-of-five-matches format over two days, France and Russia first faced off with Mary Pierce versus Elena Dementieva, and Amelie Mauresmo versus Anastasia Myskina. Dementieva won her first singles match, but Myskina lost hers to let the match count even out at 1-all.

The next day, Dementieva felled Mauresmo in their singles match, bringing the Russians up to lead 2-1. Myskina had a lead in her match against Pierce, but squandered it; the French evened the count at 2-all. This pushed the match into a deciding doubles match. Myskina sat out this match as Dinara Safina (yes, Marat Safin's little sister) teamed up with Dementieva against Pierce and Mauresmo.

Reading the Fed Cup match report, it seems to have been a very exciting Sunday at Court Philippe Chatrier. Numerous breaks of serve, confidence waxing and waning for both doubles teams, the final set was played in failing light with the possibility that play would be suspended due to darkness. The Russians managed to hold their nerve in the end, so congratulations to them for defending their title.

The French were understandably desperately disappointed to have lost such a close contest, but they seemed to take some solace in having given their all and played a huge part in such a memorable final.

"I am proud of my performance this weekend," said Pierce. "We played some high-level tennis. The public were great. It's just a pity that we didn't win."

***

In World Team Tennis news, Martina Hingis led the New York Sportimes to their first championship win over the Newport Beach Breakers. A WTT match, in contrast to regular tennis matches, is composed of a single set played to 5 games. Each game counts toward the point total of the team. The team that wins the most points in a certain period of time wins. It's not as drawn-out as a regular match and thus less stressful on the bodies of the professionals who play it (Anna Kournikova, who plays for the Sacramento Capitals, springs to mind).

From Tennis Week:
An avid tennis fan, who continues to scout potential opponents and follow tournament results both on television and on the Internet, Hingis herself seems unsure if her surgically-repaired left ankle and soft second serve could withstand the rigors of today's hard-hitting opponents. She concedes the thought of a comeback has crossed her mind.

"This format really suits me, but if I had to play two out of three sets that's a different story," Hingis said. "But playing five games singles doubles mixed is perfectly suited for me. Of course it's tempting when you win 5-0, 5-1 matches, but you never know what would happen after that. I've just tried to improve as the matches go on and I feel like I'm getting better and better and more comfortable on the court. I'm really enjoying it."

***

This upcoming weekend, the USA Davis Cup team (Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Bob and Mike Bryan) will meet the Belgian team (Oliver and Christophe Rochus, Steve Darcis, and Kristof Vliegen) in a play-off to stay in the World Group. Don't understand the significance of this tie?

From Davis Cup.com:
While 134 nations have entered the Davis Cup for 2005, only 16 countries qualify for the elite World Group each year.

They reach the World Group as follows:

(a) eight of the nations that make the World Group cut are the first round tie winners from the previous year’s World Group competition.

(b) the eight losers from the first round ties in the World Group go into a 16-team World Group Play-off competition. Into this also go the winners of the Zonal Group I sections (two nations from Asia/Oceania Group I, two from Americas Group I, and four from Europe/Africa Group I). A draw is used to determine the Play-Off ties. The eight winners from these World Group Play-Off ties are then placed in the World Group for the following year, while the losers are placed in Group I in their Zone.

It simply means that if USA loses in their tie against Belgium, they'll fall back into the Zonal Group and won't be in contention to win Davis Cup in 2006. Instead, they will have to play for a place in the 2007 World Group. That's not something desirable for Team USA, which after a final showing against Spain last year was knocked out of contention for the Cup this year by Croatia.

posted by Noelle De Guzman @ 2:44 PM