http://www.daviscup.com/news/matchreport.asp?id=14185
07 Apr 2007 - Small Sport Arena "Luzhniki", Moscow, Russia - Chris Bowers -
RUS v FRA
Tarpischev calls it right again
You have to hand it to Shamil Tarpischev. The Russian captain, who has pulled
off several shock selections over the past few months, pulled off another
with an unexpected doubles team of Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko. Yet
the unlikely lads pulled off a 36 75 63 36 63 victory against France's
Sebastien Grosjean and Michael Llodra to give Russia a 2-1 lead going
into the final day of this fascinating tie.
Some may say Tarpischev had no choice, with Marat Safin reportedly suffering
from blisters and Mikhail Youzhny coming off a four-hour 48-minute singles
on Friday night. But the selection will have done nothing to damage the
59-year-old’s reputation as one of the wiliest captains in the history
of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.
Russians have a shaky start
Tarpischev is well aware of his history as well as his tennis, and will
be aware of Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous dictum that he wanted generals
with luck as much as skill. Well the Russian pair had their stroke of
luck just when they needed it, to help them turn round an inauspicious
start and deliver a performance that grew in confidence as the match
wore on.
Although they have played a fair bit together on the tour, and won the
Moscow title in 2004, Andreev and Davydenko are not natural doubles
players. That was apparent in an opening set that went comfortably to
France, thanks to a break of the Davydenko serve in the fourth game.
With both Russians staying back after all their serves, the match
became a battle of the French bearing down on the net, and the Russians
trying to get the ball at their feet. By and large the French were doing
their job better.
Controversial line call upsets French dynamics
In the third game of the second, Davydenko’s serve was again in trouble.
He found himself at 15-40, second serve. The serve looked to go just long,
but there was no call. Grosjean returned and Andreev put away the volley,
at which point the French pointed to the mark in the clay which they
claimed showed the serve had been long. Yet the umpire, Andreas Egli,
maintained Grosjean had played the point so refused to accept the challenge
and stayed in his chair. The French were furious, saying they stopped
playing immediately. In such circumstances the umpire has to make a
subjective judgement, and whether the French agree with him or not,
this was a legitimate application of the rules.
The Russians saved the second break point, Davydenko held serve, and
from then the tenor of the match was different. The French pair still
looked the likelier to break, but at 5-6, Grosjean was broken and after
87 minutes the match was level. It was Grosjean’s serve which cracked
in the eighth game of the third, as Russia took a 2-1 lead. Three
consecutive breaks at the start of the fourth left the French ahead,
and a Llodra ace levelled the match after two hours 48 minutes.
France remain confident
For a while, neither team seemed to have an advantage in the fifth,
but France’s captain Guy Forget may be left with nightmares over his
decision to leave out Arnaud Clement, as it was Clement’s replacement,
Grosjean, who dropped serve for the fourth time in the match to give
Russia a 5-3 lead, and Andreev, the more secure server of the two Russians,
sealed victory in just under three and a half hours.
To their credit, the French refused to blame the dispute with Egli for
their defeat, and were still confident of pulling off both the final
day’s rubbers. Forget had sacrificed his best doubles team for greater
singles strength, so his gamble could yet pay off. And he will take
comfort from the fact that when Russia beat France the last three
times these teams played each other, France had won the doubles.
Maybe this time the fates will be reversed.
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