Escude Once Again The Fifth Rubber Hero
History and heartbreak repeated themselves in Lausanne, when Nicolas Escude
did exactly what he did three years ago - beat Switzerland on Swiss territory
in the decisive fifth rubber of a Davis Cup quarter-final.
For the third time in his career Escude won a live fifth rubber, showing he
has the nerve for the pressure points, by beating Michel Kratochvil 76 (3) 64
76 (6) , to see France through to an away semifinal on Spanish clay in
September. "I think the key to the match was in the head," he said
afterwards. That's no doubt true, but is only a fraction of the story.
For a man who had such hip problems that he didn't play a match between
Wimbledon last June and the first week of this year, Escude has been
vulnerable on his second serve. But until the last couple of games of
the match, he put 70 per cent of his first serves in, giving Kratochvil
little chance to counter-attack. "He served really well," said the Swiss,
"in that respect he was just too good for me."
The Frenchman also went for broke on a number of his shots. It gave Kratochvil
a few points on unforced errors, but it also left the Swiss player stranded
as Escude struck gold at a number of crucial moments.
Another important element in Escude's success is the French captain Guy
Forget. There have been rumblings in French tennis in recent months that
not everyone was comfortable with his style of captaincy, but once again
he has shown that the team ethic he has instilled into his players counts
for something in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, the premier team competition
in tennis. Though the Swiss are heavily dependent on the world No 1 Roger
Federer, this victory was achieved without France's top player
Sebastien Grosjean, yet as a testimony to the French team's cohesion,
Grosjean was with his colleagues all weekend, cheering from the sidelines.
After Federer's earlier 62 75 64 victory over Arnaud Clement, Escude and
Kratochvil traded breaks in the first set, before Escude took it on a 73
tiebreak. With the Swiss serving second in the second set, Escude seized
on the pressure created by a 54 lead to break for a 2-0 lead. The point
that gave him set point was a bit of opportunism that typified his display -
he stood still while Kratochvil had an apparently easy put-away, then blasted
a winner when the ball came his way.
Kratochvil's fortunes seemed to turn when he got angry with an overrule in
the second game of the third set. He went on to hold serve after saving two
break points, and began returning much better. That helped him when Escude
served for the tie at 53, four outstanding returns bringing Switzerland back
into the set as the Frenchman's serve began to falter for the first time.
When Kratochvil then opened up a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak, the match looked
to be heading for a fourth set. "I really believed a miracle was possible,"
said Kratochvil, but it didn't happen. Escude rode his luck on the first set
point, gave his opponent no chance on the next two, and then raised his fists
to the sky as a Kratochvil forehand drifted wide on the first match point.
"We need someone to win the French Open and not let one of the Spaniards win
again," said Forget when asked what France needed to do between now and
September's semifinal. "Hopefully Sebastien will be fit, maybe Arnaud will
be ultra fit, and hopefully we can win the doubles. But it'll be a tough tie."
Spain will host the semifinal with France, which will be played 24-26
September.
http://www.daviscup.com/news/matchreport.asp?id=12888
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