Both semifinals this weekend should be fascinating!

Nalbandian is talking some serious smack in the press, saying he thinks they could wrap up their win against Australia by the end of the Saturday's Doubles match. Wow. Argentina has a good shot if Philippoussis isn't on form, but Hewitt is too much of a fighter to go down easy. Sure, clay is not his favorite, but he has some remarkable wins when he is playing for his country.

The Americans are in Russia playing on red clay as well. This one is too close to call. The clay does not really favor either team, but seems to hurt the Americans most. Davydenko is out, so Safin will play singles. Which Safin will show up seems to be a huge question. Then again, the same can be said for Roddick and Blake. Who will step up? The Bryan brothers have something to prove, playing against one of the players that took them out in the US Open Quarters, Youzhny.

Of course I'm rooting for the U.S. team, but wouldn't mind seeing Safin lead his team to the title. I'm pulling for Argentina to win their seminfinal, but end their run there.

Can't wait to see some of the matches on the Tennis Channel.

[ September 21, 2006, 04:04 PM: Message edited by: curtj ]

Roddick is back!!!!!!! Um, back losing matches on clay of course. Safin beat Roddick in straight sets.

I love my country, but I definitely would love for Youzhny to get his US Open revenge with the clinching win over Sproddick this weekend. I'm very curious who will win today between Blake and Youzhny....James showed major improvement on clay this year, so I think he'll take down Misha.

The Australia-Argentina contest should be a doozy, I hope the heated rivalry stays professional and the fans behave. Although I liked these quotes on tennis-x.com:

"No one is friends with Hewitt and he does not worry me at all." -- David Nalbandian on Lleyton Hewitt and the Argentina vs. Australia Davis Cup tie.

"Hewitt seems to think that he's come to Iraq. But we're not bothered because this is the circus that he wanted to set up. Nothing's going to happen and we shouldn't pay any attention to it." -- Jose Acasuso on Lleyton Hewitt coming to Argentina for the Davis Cup semifinals.

"He told me he got pelted with coins and the umpire had to stop the match at one stage. We are expecting the worst and if that doesn't happen, well, that's a bonus." -- Wayne Arthurs speaking to SMH.com on Dominik Hrbaty reminiscing on the Slovak Republic's Davis Cup victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1998 in the fifth rubber. Australia will travel to Argentina for the 2006 semifinals.

You know, I've just never been able to stop liking the players that I like in order to root for America in team competition. Tennis just doesn't work that way for me and I'm not necessarily patriotic to begin with. I think we're a fine country and all, but I think there are plenty of fine countries outside of America too. That is when I think about it at all.

Because of that, I never find myself pulling for the Americans. I'm THRILLED that Safin beat Roddick in straight sets. I want Russia to take the title this year and think they have a great team to do so. I always will have a soft spot for Argentina, too, because of Gaby. So a Russia/Argentina final would be the best possible outcome for me.

[ September 22, 2006, 06:54 AM: Message edited by: Gaga4Gaby ]

Russia is almost in the finals. 2-0

I hope the Bryan brothers win their match so we can see if Andy can muster a fight on Sunday. I'm glad to see Marat playing well, though, and hope he finds success again on tour.

Nalbandian, meanwhile, is holding up his end of the deal, beating Philippoussis in straights. Leyton better bring it after the commotion he has caused.

[ September 22, 2006, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: curtj ]

What's happening with the Hewitt-Acasuso match? I am unable to load the scoreboard.

I had to turn off my pop-up blocker to see the scoreboard.

Lleyton won the first set 6-1. Acasuso won the second 6-4. Hewitt is up a break 2-1 in the third.

Acasuso and Hewitt are into their 5th set. Hewitt will kick himself if he lets this one slip by.

Acasuso up a break 3-0 in 5th set, but he'll certainly be battling nerves trying to close this one out.

Exciting stuff, I love The Tennis Channel. Tape delayed coverage of Russia-USA on OLN if anyone is interested.

acasuso up 4-0 but uh-oh, rain delay.....acasuso will have to come back and serve down break point.

Well I just watched Roddick lose to Safin. I am guessing you guys are watching the Tennis Channel and their coverage??? But anyways, lets see, clay so automatic advantage to Russia, and from what I saw of the match, Safin played well, and Roddick really had some chances, but sprayed alot of errors. I hope I am wrong, but this looked like the not very confident Roddick we have seen in years passed.Before he signed on Connors, and I didn't see Connors over there in Moscow. Looks like Andy needed him. Hopefully James can get the job done against his opponent.

Nope , Blake lost in 4.

Thanks swim. Not good. frown

BBC _ Davis Cup

The Bryan Brothers won the doubles match so it all depends on Sundays singles matches.

Cool. Way to go Bryans!! Thanks for the update swim.

hmmm..

hmmmmmmmm..

man, I miss the tennis channel. who is nadel loving up in those photos?

Verdasco.

Gawd, I love the Spanish Davis Cup team! Purely, for their tennis abilities of course.

Why the hmmm pictures with Nadal? European men are not obsessed with society driven machismo ideology that plagues the United States. Its one of the most refreshing things about visiting Europe. Many of the men greet each other with a kiss and are affectionate with each other...not worrying about being labeled a homosexual; not even thinking that their acts of affection would be thought of as gay. Thats just the way the culture is there.

I was just kidding. Not just in Europe..it is the same in Asia as well.

Did anybody see Dima and Igor's nice liplock after the win over Roddick? And am I missing something but I don't see Tennis listed on the topics list here anymore.

Absolutely beautiful photos. Thank you! Wish I knew how to post photos. Maybe someday....
[size=4]

I don't see tennis either. How could they not have tennis in that list of sports?

hmm... davis cup topic, but no tennis forum. crazy. anyway... i am bemused that Nalbandian's cocky prediction actually came true. Hewitt couldn't prevent it from happening, it seems and the Argies are on to the finals against... Russia. What a performance by Tursunov! Too bad he's not playing for the U.S.

I imagine Russia will choose to play the final on hardcourt or carpet against the clay courters of Argentina. If that's the case, I think Russia will take the title.

Patrick McEnroe has been given a 2 year contract extension to continue as Davis Cup coach.

Last week's Sports Illustrated column addressed the issue of whether Americans should be "mad" at Tursonov for beating Roddick. I don't think "mad" is the right word, but I do think it's ridiculous that he plays for Russia. The guy is like the stereotypical Californian, speaks perfect American english and has lived here for years. I think if you're gonna represent a country, there should be a rule that you must at least have lived there in the last 5 years or something like that. Otherwise, the whole competition seems meaningless.

I get all jingoistic when it comes to this stuff. If you're benefitting by living in my country then play for my country!

Or maybe I have been in Texas for too long.

Monaco and the US (or more specifically Florida) would be in the Davis Cup Finals every year then. I didnt read the article, but this sure reeks of sour grapes to me.

This wasnt exactly a close tie either, Russia spanked us. And Roddick would have a hard time beating Youzhny, Davydenko, Kunitsyn, Gabashvili, an injured Andreev, or even me on red clay.

This kind of thing drives me crazy though since I will always root for the players I like as opposed to the country they live in since the latter seems absolutely ridiculous to me. People like Dima must have to laugh and wonder where the USTA was with their support before he started winning matches. I doubt Spain is "mad" that Safin trained there and yet plays for Russia.

But WWCD, I'm sure your country is doing just fine with the money these tennis millionaires are spending in California and Florida. Maybe you can help some of these players with their US citizenship though.

That's why I (and I suspect many others) have such a hard time caring about Davis Cup, or Fed Cup for that matter. The country vs. country aspect is hopelessly outdated and artificial in the world of tennis. Now, the Americans losing at basketball is another matter....

Yeah, I think there is an element of sour grapes and the US probably would have lost anyway. But it's not really about me rooting for Roddick and the rest of the American team. Maybe, it is just the format I have trouble with. There was something about watching Dima play for Russia that just rubbed me the wrong way. He was born in Russia so he should play for that team? Does that mean Hingis should play for Czechoslovakia?

Same is true of Sharapova. She always spouts how Russian she is. But is there a better example of a girl living the American dream?

I'm sorry to vent. I'm just feeling prickly.

Did you say spout or pout?

And please vent away, it sounds like we all have a hard time getting excited about Davis Cup. And yet I'm the hypocrite who gets mad when players dont play Davis Cup....especially the Americans. And as much as I have problems with Sproddick, I give him credit for playing. Especially this one since he probably knew playing on clay might kill some of his momentum and "intimidation factor" for lack of a better phrase.

if it did work that way, then monaco (or some other tax haven) would probably have the strongest davis cup team in the world.

facetious remarks aside, though, the only thing that's ever bothered me about the davis cup (and fed cup, and the olympics...) is precisely its/their nationality-based structure. sure, it can make for some absolutely incredible matches, but the firmly nationality-centred nature of the competition also means, for example, that you get very little if any coverage of ties that don't include the team of the country you happen to be living in. here in italy, for example, there's no way you would get even a ten-minute roundup of a davis cup final, regardless of the quality of tennis, unless italy were palying (and that hasn't happened since 1976 or something).

and i don't even find all that flag-waving jingoism amusing - sometimes i find it downright sinister. but that's just me, i suppose

Definitely. Come back to New York before it's too late!!!

I got it! Next year we will have Davis Cup: Survivor Style. Teams determined by ethnicity!

Team 1
Roddick
Tursonov
Federer
Hewitt

Team 2
Nadal
Lopez
Verdasco
Nalbandian

Team 3
Blake
Monfils
Young
um...Jenkins?

Team 4
Srichaphan
Lee
Paes
Bhupathi

I think the whole idea that folks in the US could be justifiably "mad" (I'm assuming SI means "angry" rather than "insane") at Tursunov for playing for his country of origin is entirely "mad" (insane) itself.

The issue of national representation in tennis is complex on one hand, and has many factors; place of birth, nationality of parents, naturalisation, acquired citizenship, etc, etc. On the other hand it is terribly simple; each player is perfectly entitled to play for the nation to which he/she feels best doing so, provided that all the governing bodies involved are happy to allow it, and that all relevant rules and conventions are satisfied.

In Tursunov's case, there's no question that he is fully entitled to represent Russia in international competition. A belief amongst members of the public in any country that a player should be required to represent them simply because that player lives in their country and possesses aspects of their perceived culture is madness.

There is some sanity in the point about a player benefitting from living and training in a country rich in training resources; there's no doubt that in many ways the player does indeed benefit. However, the major counter to this is that the host country benefits at least as much as the foreign player, both in financial terms and in terms of maintaining its reputation for training the best. It is definitely not some unilateral system whereby the host country acts as a gracious beneficiary for the poor foreigner and receives nothing in return. If this were true, such training facilities would not bother training foreign students. And once a player becomes established, if they remain in the host nation, they continue to contribute to it by their spending, creation of jobs, payment of taxes, etc, etc.

In the particular case of the USA; you cannot advertise the American (Sporting) Dream of success through hard work and determination to foreign youngsters and then be upset when said youngsters come forward to take up the challenge and succeed on their own terms, potentially retaining their nationalities. If players utilising this system and ideology are only allowed to do this on the condition that they switch nationality, then either that should be stated beforehand, or the US should adopt a policy of refusing sporting immigration all together.

Phew. Rant over. Apologies for rabbiting on so much. Certain aspects of nationalism tend to drive me slightly nuts. Apologies for using the US as a specific example, but it was the nation highlighted in the original point... to counterbalance, the points apply to plenty other countries, and hopefully won't be seen as "anti-US".

B

No apology necessary. Your rant is fine.

My question is why was no one clamoring for Tursonov to play Davis Cup for the US before he beat Roddick this weekend?

Team number 4 wouldn't work WWCD...Bhupiti and Paes...they don't like each other.

Otherwise...I say lets give it a try.

I think we're all missing the point of this SI article.....

Sports Illustrated actually covered some tennis again. Woo Hoo!!!!

And one more thing, were there pics of Dima's abs?

Besides, if you read the SI article you'll see that Wertheim (the SI columnist) was definitely not in agreement that it makes any sense to be angry at Tursonov.

The provocative headline was just based on a single letter to Wertheim's mailbag, which is a weekly feature.

And Goodguy -- sorry, no pictures.

First of all, if Tursunov had declared for the U.S., he would have been sitting on the sidelines watching Blake and Roddick lose to Davydenko or Youzhny--who are much better clay court players than Tursunov anyway.

Secondly, his ties to Russia seem pretty solid to me. He lived there until he was 12, so when you consider that he spends maybe three months a year in the US now, he's certainly spent more time in Russia than any other country. Who are you to say he's American rather than Russian? I lived in the U.S. for thirteen years--longer than Tursunov has--and I certainly never considered myself American.

Personally, I have no problem with players playing for their native countries, even if they don't happen to currently live in them. I'm far more irritated by the tendency of certain countries to go shopping for players of other nationalities.

Oh this was just cnnsi.com, I thought this was the magazine. I should've known, the mag sometimes doesnt even cover the Grand Slams these days. :-(

It seems to me that you can't have it both ways, JC. If Tursonov feels more Russian and wants to play for that team and you think that's OK, fine. But then when Germany wants Vaidisova to play for their team because she was born in the country and woos her, what's wrong with that?

The more I think about it, the more I reach the same conclusion many of you reached months ago: that the nation versus nation concept is obsolete in tennis. All these players moving around so much has sort of done for Davis Cup what free agency has done for baseball. I love the Yankees, but sometimes I feel like I'm rooting for a brand rather than for a team. Ten years ago, I hated Roger Clemens. Five years ago, I loved him. Now I hate him again.

So another SI letter to the editor has me going (I just love that emoticon for some reason).

So the letter was from a fan who thought that it was inappropriate for Tiger Woods, an American athlete rooting for Roger Federer against another American Andy Roddick in the US Open final. This was coming from someone living abroad in Italy, so I was really surprised that to me he seemed so narrow-minded. Or who knows, maybe I'm crazy.

Or maybe the Jingo ate my baby. Oh wait, that's dingo.....nevermind.

I remember seeing Woods with Federer and thinking that it was odd that he wasn't supporting Andy. This was before, of course, I learned they're both IMG people.

That whole thing was a turn off for me anyway. Is Tiger not famous enough that he has to get in on Roger's celebration? The picture of Tiger holding/kissing the US Open trophey really pissed me off.

Besides them both being IMG cliebts, Woods and Federer are both being called the greatest players of their time, if not all time. So I can kind of see why Woods would be there for Federer. But I do wonder where Federer was during the Ryder Cup?