Ljubicic and Davis Cup
Ivan Ljubicic had a spectacular weekend - dispatched Agassi in straight sets, teamed with Mario Ancic in the doubles to beat the American top-duo (the Bryan twins), and after 12 long sets and 3 matches in as many days, he still found enough to slam an ace - to dump the US out of this year's Davis cup. It was a truly inspirational performance... and a coming of age.
Having said that, it makes me question the commitment of the top players to Davis cup. I agree that Agassi and Roddick have always been available and ready to play - but do they really give it their all? If Ljubici were to face Agassi and then Roddick ina grand slam (even without the doubles), would he be able to replicate this performance? Or do we see such performances (remember Leander Paes' heroics?) only in the Davis cup - because it means SO much more to the lower ranked players and those fighting for their country's eminence in the sport? Roddick hardly needs to win a davis cup match to prove America's prowess in tennis! In fact, the cup barely earns a scrolling ticker mention in the media here. So, it's only natural to expect the prominence of this event to slip in the minds of the top players - who, after going through the tightening of their guts and the tingling of their spines while stepping onto the Wimbledon center court, can hardly expect to get the same response in front of 5000 lazy fans in a languid Florida keys setting. Who's to blame? Nobody. Everybody. The media, the tennis body, the players, the coaches and the parents. OR maybe it's just the way things are - and somehting we must all accept.
Having said that, it makes me question the commitment of the top players to Davis cup. I agree that Agassi and Roddick have always been available and ready to play - but do they really give it their all? If Ljubici were to face Agassi and then Roddick ina grand slam (even without the doubles), would he be able to replicate this performance? Or do we see such performances (remember Leander Paes' heroics?) only in the Davis cup - because it means SO much more to the lower ranked players and those fighting for their country's eminence in the sport? Roddick hardly needs to win a davis cup match to prove America's prowess in tennis! In fact, the cup barely earns a scrolling ticker mention in the media here. So, it's only natural to expect the prominence of this event to slip in the minds of the top players - who, after going through the tightening of their guts and the tingling of their spines while stepping onto the Wimbledon center court, can hardly expect to get the same response in front of 5000 lazy fans in a languid Florida keys setting. Who's to blame? Nobody. Everybody. The media, the tennis body, the players, the coaches and the parents. OR maybe it's just the way things are - and somehting we must all accept.
posted by Harish at 08:49
4 Comments:
Olympics apart, when was the last time you saw a team sport at an inter-country level be extremely popular in the US? Most of the popular sports here are intra-country and not really region based. Even during Pete's heydays, he used to be am extremely reluctant Davis Cup campaigner.
But yes, saw the doubles match and the Croats played some superb tennis!
Havent played tennis much, but what I can tell you, is that the situation is similar in the other sports as well... for instance, in cricket, when we are playing against a mediocre team, we need to really pump ourselves up, motivate ourselves a lot more than when facing a competitive opposition, and concentrate a lot harder ; all this to play below (way below) par !!! The reason : If you play too well, thrash them, the reaction would be "It was too easy a team anyway!!" And if you go too far down in doing it, well you would end up like Agassi... but still the reaction would be : "We can beat them anyday !!"
On the flip side, I have seen people who just aren't bothered about the opposition, and go all out all the time.. That is what is to be taught / learnt I guess..
Sethu
question of priorities..
those matches were televised live in croatia.. here noone knew it was happening.. talk abt motivation..
Bullcrap.
Davis Cup is dead, buried and mummified in the US. And noone could do a thing about it anymore.
and that's that.
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