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India’s chances of progressing further in the Davis Cup World Group were dealt a severe blow by an unkind draw.
India have to contend with top seeds Serbia in the first round to be played in the first week of March, next year.
The Serbs have Djokovic, Tipsarevic , Troicki and Ninad Zemonjic in their ranks.
The Indians can count on Paes and Bhupathi to win their doubles rubber but the other two points will have to come from Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman.
Somdev is capable of springing a surprise but the dice are heavily loaded in the Serbians’ favour.
This is the second and final instalment detailing the World Group at the Davis Cup.
Eight unseeded teams are pitted against the top eight teams.
The teams at the lower end of the spectrum, for the 2011 edition , in alphabetical order, are :
Austria, Belgium, Chile, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Romania and Sweden.
What do these teams have to offer?
Can they cause any major upsets?
A peek at the teams and their crusaders!
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The draw for next year’s Davis Cup is scheduled to take place in Brussels on the 22nd of September, 2010.
Sixteen nations play the World Group of the Davis Cup every year, eight seeded and the other eight unseeded.
The two finalists of the previous year’s edition help form the two halves of the draw.
A quick look at the eight top teams in the World Group for Davis Cup 2011.
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Aided by the sultry Chennai weather, the Indian Davis Cup team scripted a famous come-from-behind victory at Chennai, outplaying Brazil in both the singles matches on Sunday, the 19th of September, 2010.
This time though, the victory was achieved in a thoroughly professional manner with the entire team carrying its weight.
Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman had their say. They have reassured Indian tennis fans that the country’s Davis Cup hopes are in secure hands for the foreseeable future.
Bellucci caved in to cramps and dehydration in the morning after just a set and a half. Somdev Devvarman was left feeling a little bemused but why look a gift horse in the mouth?
Highlights from the 2010 US Open. Some from the sidelines, some from the action. Capturing the moods , captioning the moods!
India take on Brazil on Friday the 17th of September , 2010 at Chennai on hard-courts in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs.
The first day’s play features two singles matches : Thomas Bellucci versus Rohan Bopanna & Somdev Devverman versus Ricardo Mello.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi take on Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo on Saturday in a crucial doubles encounter.
The reverse singles will be played on Sunday.
Suffice to say, at least two singles matches will need to be clinched for India to progress to the next round.
The weight of Indian expectations rest on Somdev’s shoulders. Bopanna is not favoured to win either of his singles.
Can Somdev pull it off? The Indian tennis fraternity certainly hope so.
Now that Rafael Nadal has staked his claim to being the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT), let us examine the reasons why tennis aficionados are still leery of anointing him the heir to Federer’s not yet vacated throne.
Is it that he is a Spaniard not too familiar with the nuances of the English language?
Is it that he does not typify the usual tennis player? Is it that he appears to be a muscle-bound hulk?
Is it that he’s built more like a boxer or a sprinter?
Is that what blinds us to his ever improving court craft?
Or are we just peeved with the alleged illegal coaching by his Uncle Toni from the sidelines?
A rain-delayed Monday US Open final dawns.
Can Djokovic repeat his moment of magic against the top seed, Rafael Nadal?
Nadal is the overwhelming favourite going into the Flushing Meadows final.
But Djokovic should look no further than his own box, more specifically his father wearing an extraordinarily loud T-shirt with the Joker’s mug smiling back at him for awesome motivation.
Djokovic’s dad , Srdjan Djokovic, dares to look ridiculous just so his son Djokovic can feel that he’s not alone struggling on that blue quad.
The writing is on the wall.
We’ve dismissed suggestions that Federer is fading and have hoped against hope to be rewarded with another Slam this year but we were destined to be disappointed.
Federer has lost his aura of invincibility. We just failed to recognise it for what it was.
We believed that it was only Nadal who stood in his way. How we have demonised that man from Mallorca!
But we forget that our Gods are human too. We forget that they age too.
That they succumb to their mistakes.
That their creaking bones may no longer withstand the rigors of a gruelling tour.
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Who would have believed it?
Vera Zvonareva gets to her second successive Grand Slam final.
She’s flown under the radar. She allowed Wozniacki and her shorter-than-short dress steal the limelight; she warms up in sweatpants and a jacket despite the sweltering heat and now she has knocked out the Danish sweetheart without so much as a by-your-leave.
Vera Zvonareva, you are going places and how!
Caroline Wozniacki found the pressure of expectations too much to handle and caved in to a much calmer, much hotter (in terms of the tennis) Vera on a day of one upset and two disappointments at the US Open 2010.
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