Forget Springs Selection Surprise
23 Sep 2004 - Plaza de Toros de Alicante, Alicante, ESP - Chris Bowers
Forget Springs Selection Surprise
The draw for the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Semifinal in
Alicante between Spain and France has been made and is as follows:
Carlos Moya (ESP) v Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Rafael Nadal/Tommy Robredo (ESP) v Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Carlos Moya (ESP) v Fabrice Santoro (FRA)
Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) v Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
After sitting out Davis Cup by BNP Paribas for more than a year,
Fabrice Santoro returns to action this weekend with possibly the
most important role in France's semifinal away to Spain.
The 31-year-old Frenchman, admired across the tennis world
for the wizardry he can weave with his unorthodox strokes,
has been thrown in to face the former world No 1 Juan
Carlos Ferrero on the opening day of the world group semifinal
in the impressive Alicante bull ring. And it seems hard to imagine
France winning without at least two victories by Santoro.
Though Santoro and his doubles partner Michael Llodra are
ranked well above Arnaud Clement, most observers expected Clement
to challenge the out-of-form Ferrero on the temporary claycourt.
But Forget, having just repaired the broken bridges between
him and Santoro which led to Santoro's absence from France's two
ties this year, has asked the 36th-ranked wizard to face the former
French Open champion, and team up with Llodra in Saturday's doubles.
"I owe it to the tie to pick my best players on the first day," said
Forget explaining his decision, "and Fabrice is playing best at the
moment. I realise many people will be surprised, but to me it is a
justifiable decision."
Any team selection by Forget has to be seen in the context of two
factors: firstly the absence of France's top-ranked player Sebastien
Grosjean, who may not play for the rest of the year as a result of
a persistent thigh injury; and secondly the fact that France under
Forget have consistently achieved more in Davis Cup by BNP Paribas
than the rankings of their players suggest.
But the return of Santoro to play singles and doubles is somewhat
surprising, as well as being a victory for conflict resolution.
Forget dropped him for this year's first round tie against Croatia,
saying he wasnot a team player, and Santoro missed the quarterfinal
away to Switzerland which France won thanks to Nicolas Escude's
fifth-rubber win over Michel Kratochvil. But with Escude and Grosjean
injured, the motive was there for the bridges to be rebuilt, and
both Forget and Santoro are pleased the differences are now
behind them.
"I'm very happy to be back in the team," said Santoro. "It's great
to start the Davis Cup year in the semifinals. Nobody can be
confident about playing Ferrero on clay, no one player in the world
can be sure to beat him, but I've played well in practice in the
last few days, and that's why I'll be on the court."
Ferrero v Santoro is the second of the opening day's singles. The
action starts with the world No 6 Carlos Moya playing the 77th-ranked
but in-form Paul-Henri Mathieu. While Moya takes an unbeaten run
of eight straight Davis Cup singles wins into the match, Mathieu
returns to the competition for the first time since his heartbreaking
five-sets defeat to Mikhail Youzhny in the fifth rubber of the 2002
final, in which he squandered a two-sets lead.
"That's in the past," said Mathieu, "but win or lose it's good
experience to take into this match."
As expected, Spain's captain Jordi Arrese has nominated the US Open
semifinalists Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo to face Llodra and
Santoro in the doubles.
--
生無以建立奇絕
死當含無窮之恨
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.112.234.152
※ 編輯: Escude 來自: 140.112.234.152 (09/25 00:59)
FRA_hotties 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
