Davis Cup: Great Britain Vs Netherlands - Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 - 2nd Rnd 2007
Just in case there was any doubt, recent news reports have confirmed that Murray WAS injured before the Djokovic debacle.
Murray was very sporting not to blame this for the result but, considering that only two weeks earlier in Indian Wells, he admitted it was a mistake to have played while injured, he would have looked a bit silly if he'd tried to excuse the performance.
With hindsight it's easy to say that playing while injured was a mistake, but the lure of breaking into the top ten is a strong one and at the back of Murray's mind there must always be the thought that... anything could happen.
Djokovic could have fallen and broken his ankle on the way out of the dressing room. Djokovic could have choked under the pressure and made the match a close one (remember that set Murray won against Monfils while injured?). More likely though, and of course what actually happened, was that Djokovic would win comfortably.
So let's hope Murray breaks into the top ten soon, if for no other reason than it may encourage him to be more conservative about the times he chooses to play injured.
Unless of course, it's Davis Cup time and GB is calling... Oh dear...
Murray has gone to great pains to assure everyone that he is fit to play, describing himself as "93.42%" fit. Cute, but the proof of the pudding will be in the, er, tennis match due to start in about half an hour (Midday - UK Time).
Let's have a look a the match ups.
Andy Murray Vs Raemon Sluiter (140) - Midday (UK Time).
The closest these two have come to playing each other was in last weeks tournament in Miami. Robert Kendrick beat Sluiter 6-4 6-4 before being crushed by Murray.
If Murray is fit, this match is a cake walk. If he's slow getting started then anything could happen. Anything except Sluiter winning of course. In all seriousness it just seems so hard to imagine a player ranked 140 in the world being able to take three sets off Murray.
And that's before you take into account the fact that Murray is playing in front of very enthusiastic support.
Tim Henman (48) Vs Robin Haase (141) - After conclusion of above match.
These two have never met. Henman's ranking is in flux at the moment as he's struggled to regain form and fitness. His match record for the year is won 1 and lost 3, so this result is not a forgone conclusion.
Haase is just 20 and has very little experience at the top level so you would expect Henman's experience to come through in front of a home crowd.
Jamie Murray & Greg Rusedski Vs Igor Sijsling & Rogier Wassen - Saturday 1pm (UK Time)
Murray and Wassen are the doubles players here, ranked 43 and 42 respectively. Rusedski has hardly played at all this year and Sijsling is ranked in the low 200's for doubles and singles.
On paper, this match looks wide open and could easily be the most entertaining match of the tournament.
Murray and Henman are due to play the reverse singles from today on Sunday, but the Sunday matches are always subject to changes. If, for example, GB win the first three matches, these two matches would become "dead rubbers" and Henman and/or Murray may choose to rest. I should be able to post again tomorrow and I'll include updates on the Sunday matches to be played.
Finally, I guess I should talk about what this match means in terms of the Davis Cup. Well...
If you thought the world ranking calculations were complicated, then this will blow your mind. Like the world rankings, the Davis Cup rankings are based on previous results but, for the last FOUR years, not just the last 12 months.
And these are scaled so results from four years ago don't get you as many points as results from the last 12 months. Great Britain are currently ranked 30th.
All the teams are in groups that roughly match their rankings and each group becomes a mini tournament. The eventual winners of these groups go into a play-off against the losers in the next group up and the first round losers go into a play-off against the winners of one of the groups below.
In this way, teams can move up and down in the groups. The higher the group, the more ranking points on offer.
The ultimate goal is to get promoted to the World Group and win three rounds in a row to reach the final.
Great Britain are in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 (Americas and Asia/Oceania are the other zones and there are four groups/divisions in each zone) and if they win this second round match then they will go through to the play-offs against either Romania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Austria, Chile or Australia.
The fact that GB only have to beat the Netherlands to get a shot at the World Group, gives you an indication of how low the competition is in the Europe/Africa groups. The Europe/Africa group is the tennis equivalent of football leagues 1 and 2.
To get some decent competition for Murray et al, a win today and in six months time, is vital.
Any questions about Davis Cup stuff? Post your comments here and I'll try and figure it out for you.
Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray passed fit for Davis Cup
Davis Cup - Official Website - Ranking Details
Davis Cup - Official Website - Tie Details
Murray was very sporting not to blame this for the result but, considering that only two weeks earlier in Indian Wells, he admitted it was a mistake to have played while injured, he would have looked a bit silly if he'd tried to excuse the performance.
With hindsight it's easy to say that playing while injured was a mistake, but the lure of breaking into the top ten is a strong one and at the back of Murray's mind there must always be the thought that... anything could happen.
Djokovic could have fallen and broken his ankle on the way out of the dressing room. Djokovic could have choked under the pressure and made the match a close one (remember that set Murray won against Monfils while injured?). More likely though, and of course what actually happened, was that Djokovic would win comfortably.
So let's hope Murray breaks into the top ten soon, if for no other reason than it may encourage him to be more conservative about the times he chooses to play injured.
Unless of course, it's Davis Cup time and GB is calling... Oh dear...
Murray has gone to great pains to assure everyone that he is fit to play, describing himself as "93.42%" fit. Cute, but the proof of the pudding will be in the, er, tennis match due to start in about half an hour (Midday - UK Time).
Let's have a look a the match ups.
Andy Murray Vs Raemon Sluiter (140) - Midday (UK Time).
The closest these two have come to playing each other was in last weeks tournament in Miami. Robert Kendrick beat Sluiter 6-4 6-4 before being crushed by Murray.
If Murray is fit, this match is a cake walk. If he's slow getting started then anything could happen. Anything except Sluiter winning of course. In all seriousness it just seems so hard to imagine a player ranked 140 in the world being able to take three sets off Murray.
And that's before you take into account the fact that Murray is playing in front of very enthusiastic support.
Tim Henman (48) Vs Robin Haase (141) - After conclusion of above match.
These two have never met. Henman's ranking is in flux at the moment as he's struggled to regain form and fitness. His match record for the year is won 1 and lost 3, so this result is not a forgone conclusion.
Haase is just 20 and has very little experience at the top level so you would expect Henman's experience to come through in front of a home crowd.
Jamie Murray & Greg Rusedski Vs Igor Sijsling & Rogier Wassen - Saturday 1pm (UK Time)
Murray and Wassen are the doubles players here, ranked 43 and 42 respectively. Rusedski has hardly played at all this year and Sijsling is ranked in the low 200's for doubles and singles.
On paper, this match looks wide open and could easily be the most entertaining match of the tournament.
Murray and Henman are due to play the reverse singles from today on Sunday, but the Sunday matches are always subject to changes. If, for example, GB win the first three matches, these two matches would become "dead rubbers" and Henman and/or Murray may choose to rest. I should be able to post again tomorrow and I'll include updates on the Sunday matches to be played.
Finally, I guess I should talk about what this match means in terms of the Davis Cup. Well...
If you thought the world ranking calculations were complicated, then this will blow your mind. Like the world rankings, the Davis Cup rankings are based on previous results but, for the last FOUR years, not just the last 12 months.
And these are scaled so results from four years ago don't get you as many points as results from the last 12 months. Great Britain are currently ranked 30th.
All the teams are in groups that roughly match their rankings and each group becomes a mini tournament. The eventual winners of these groups go into a play-off against the losers in the next group up and the first round losers go into a play-off against the winners of one of the groups below.
In this way, teams can move up and down in the groups. The higher the group, the more ranking points on offer.
The ultimate goal is to get promoted to the World Group and win three rounds in a row to reach the final.
Great Britain are in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 (Americas and Asia/Oceania are the other zones and there are four groups/divisions in each zone) and if they win this second round match then they will go through to the play-offs against either Romania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Belarus, Austria, Chile or Australia.
The fact that GB only have to beat the Netherlands to get a shot at the World Group, gives you an indication of how low the competition is in the Europe/Africa groups. The Europe/Africa group is the tennis equivalent of football leagues 1 and 2.
To get some decent competition for Murray et al, a win today and in six months time, is vital.
Any questions about Davis Cup stuff? Post your comments here and I'll try and figure it out for you.
Source:
BBC SPORT | Tennis | Murray passed fit for Davis Cup
Davis Cup - Official Website - Ranking Details
Davis Cup - Official Website - Tie Details
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