Three rookie singles players in Switzerland
03 Mar 2005 - Expo Centre, Fribourg, SUI - Marco Keller
Three rookie singles players in Switzerland
Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) v Sjeng Schalken (NED)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) v Peter Wessels (NED)
Yves Allegro/George Bastl (SUI) v Raemon Sluiter/Peter Wessels (NED)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) v Sjeng Schalken (NED)
Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) v Peter Wessels (NED)
The Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie between Switzerland and The Netherlands will
be one with plenty of fresh blood. In fact, three of the four players, who
are nominated for the first day of singles, have no live singles match under
their belt.
In Fribourg, Marco Chiudinelli (ATP 150) will open the tie on Friday against
Dutch leader Sjeng Schalken (ATP 73), then Stanislas Wawrinka (ATP 118) will
assume the Swiss leadership in an all-rookie-match against Peter Wessels
(ATP 78). In the doubles, Yves Allegro/George Bastl are announced for
Switzerland, while the Dutch will rely on Raemon Sluiter/Wessels, before on
Sunday, the number 1 and 2 of the countries battle it out, respectively.
In the absence of Roger Federer and injured Michel Kratochvil, the host
nations hopes this time rest on the broad shoulders of Wawrinka. The
19-year-old, French Open Junior champion in 2003, recently proved his indoor
value by beating Sebastien Grosjean in Rotterdam and by reaching the first
indoor final of his career at a challenger in Andrezieux. The hard hitting
baseliner, who lost one dead rubber in Romania 2004, is looking forward to
the challenge, "I slowly feel that the tension building. I will do
my best to handle it as well as possible." His opponent will have the same
approach to the match. Despite being 26-years-old, big serving Wessels has no
Davis Cup experience whatsoever. Some consider it a surprise that he was
preferred to Sluiter, who holds a good record, but most experts think that
Sluiter will play if there is a decisive rubber.
While Swiss Marco Chiudinelli gets a deserved reward for his continuous
progress over the last 18 months and has a style suitable for the slow
Rebound Ace surface, Holland can rely on a long-proven contender in the first
match. Sjeng Schalken has an impressive record in the Davis Cup by BNP
Paribas competition, he has won 19 of 32 singles rubbers. After suffering
almost a year from a severe mononucleosis, Schalken has only fully recovered
recently, "for only one month I have been feeling better. I am
strong again and very happy to play." The former US Open semifinalist will
square off twice against complete rookies, but isn't sure yet whether this
will turn out to be an advantage for him. "Everybody reacts different to
pressure,” said the tall Dutchman. “Some will play better than in regular
tournaments also with the aid of the crowd, some can't handle the pressure
and play worse. We'll see tomorrow how it goes."
The chances of the Swiss are, of course, majorly limited due to the absence
of Roger Federer. The worlds best player is absent for the first time since
1998, as he wants to focus on his ranking right now. Federer had won 16 of
the last 18 singles he played and has virtually been a one-man team. Captain
Marc Rosset acknowledges the handicap but also sees it as a chance.
"Of course, we would be much stronger with Roger. But the remaining players
now have a chance to write a page in the tennis history of our country, said
Rosset."
Although the Dutch are clearly favoured by the ranking - they have three
top-100-players while the Swiss have none. Captain Tjerk Bogtstra doesn't
agree he commented "of course, they miss the best player in the world but
I wouldn't say we are the favourites. We have to prove our strength on the
court.”
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