Posts tagged Davis
Davis Cup returns to Hawera
Mar 30th
Davis Cup returns to Hawera GLENN MCLEAN
The Davis Cup is returning to Hawera. The South Taranaki town has beaten off two other bidders to host July’s Asia-Oceania group one tie between New Zealand and the Philippines.
Tennis New Zealand chief executive Steve Johns, of Auckland, said there were two key reasons for the TSB Hub being chosen to host its second tie within a year.
“First and foremost is the fact that it was a winning venue for us last year and secondly, it was an outstanding venue that was well supported by the people of Taranaki.”
New Zealand came from behind to beat Pakistan 3-2 in July in front of crowds that averaged about 500 over the three days of action.
“From start to finish it was just a very successful tie. We were very happy and we’re really looking forward to going back there,” Johns said.
While mindful of criticism Tennis NZ received for taking the tie to Hawera instead of keeping it in a major centre, Johns was making no apologies about returning.
“One message I would say to the critics is you only have to look at past ties that have been in some of our bigger cities around the country and the attendances have been very, very poor,” he said.
“If you look at Hawera, there were hundreds of people there everyday.
“At the end of the day our guys want to play in front of vocal crowds.
“It would be nice to host it in the middle of Auckland but our guys would like to play in front of several hundred people rather than a few dozen.”
The Philippines are ranked 36th in the world, four places ahead of New Zealand. The two sides last met in 2009 when the Philippines triumphed 4-1.
Both sides are coming off last round losses – New Zealand going down 2-3 to Uzbekistan, while the Philippines lost 1-3 to Japan.
Johns said there were no plans at this stage for the tie to be televised.
“We’d love to get it on TV but the costs associated with that just don’t make it possible.”
Taranaki Tennis board chairman Andrew Baylis was confident the tie could attract bigger crowds than last year because organisers would have more time to promote it.
“We’re ecstatic to get it in Hawera again,” he said.
“We didn’t have a lot of time from when we were awarded it to when it was played last time and that’s a big advantage for us.”
Baylis said the TSB Hub would have a capacity to seat more than 900 for each day of the tie.
The teams for the tie will be announced in June.
– Taranaki Daily News
From www.stuff.co.nz
Tennis notebook: Nadal’s Texas debut to come at Davis
Mar 10th
Imagine this scenario: Andy Roddick, thrice thwarted in Wimbledon finals over the past decade, makes another great run this summer and winds up facing defending champion Rafael Nadal for tennis’ most prized title. Then, five days later, they square off in another best-of-five rematch in Austin at the Frank Erwin Center.
The first half of that script is going to be strictly up to the 28-year-old Roddick, who lost a memorable five-setter to Roger Federer in 2009 after also succumbing to Federer in 2004 and 2005 (plus the ’03 semis). But the second part appears to be reality, which means, barring injury, the No. 1-ranked Nadal will finally make his Texas debut in the 2011 Davis Cup quarterfinals.
A formal announcement that the Cup will be held in Austin July 8-10 is expected in a week or so, at which point ticket information will be available. San Antonio is also pitching the Alamodome, but Roddick’s residency on Lake Austin gives the capitol the inside track.
It’s assumed that Roddick agreed to rejoin the U.S. team this year and travel to Chile for a first-round match last weekend in return for assurances he could play near his home in the next round if the Americans advanced. They defeated Chile 4-1, and Spain beat Belgium by the same score.
Rumors you may have heard that the matches would be played on grass are laughable. For starters, there’s only one grass court in the Austin area, and it’s hardly suitable for spectators. Further, Nadal, a two-time Wimbledon champion, isn’t exactly helpless on the surface. Instead, the tie will be played on a fast carpet in air-conditioned comfort.
Rafa’s meteoric rise to the top of the game began in the spring of 2005, well after Houston had hosted the 2002 U.S.-Spain quarterfinal on grass at Westside Tennis and Fitness. The 2003-04 Masters Cups at Westside also came too soon for him to make a qualifying run. Roddick, in turn, hasn’t played a sanctioned match of any kind in Texas since losing to Tommy Haas in the 2006 Clay Courts quarterfinals.
The first Davis Cup tie played in Texas was at River Oaks in 1936, when the U.S. beat Mexico 5-0. Arthur Ashe led the U.S. to a 4-1 victory in his Cup debut at Dallas’ Samuell-Grand Tennis Center in 1965, and the Americans won the 1992 final in Fort Worth with current Davis Cup captain Jim Courier on the team.
That time of yearWith the weather turning spring-like, it’s a good time to review the options available for youngsters getting involved in the sport locally. HTA spokesperson Terry St. John says 59 sanctioned tournaments — out of 241 in the state — will be held in the Houston area in 2011, including this weekend’s Houston Open 12s and 14s Superchampionships at Lee LeClear Tennis Center, 9506 Gessner.
Nearly 300 players will be competing in multiple draws, with the finals set for Monday. Levels of junior competition:
• Beginners: Numerous clubs, the Giammalva Racquet Club and the Houston City Club among them, offer QuickStart programs using smaller courts and over-sized balls to introduce kids to the game. The city, most tennis clubs and some YMCAs (Katy’s for one) have regular starter and intermediate teaching programs.
• ZAT (zone advancement tournaments): Boys and girls in age groups 12, 14, 16 and 18 can get their feet wet in these tournaments, earning points for advancement to more competitive levels. There is also play in the 10s, but no advancement points are awarded.
• Championship: Players qualify based on their ZAT results.
• Superchampionship: Players qualify based on their Championship results.
Team competition is also held at varying levels of expertise. Contact the Houston Tennis Association’s Sherri Shulman at 281 580-8313 for information on those leagues and tournaments. The Houston Tennis Association website (houstontennis.org) and the USTA Texas Section (texas.usta.com) websites are also great resources.
Lee College ailingThe Lee College of Baytown women’s tennis program appears to be gravely endangered with the school trying to shrink a $4 million funding shortfall. Never mind that tennis is Lee’s least expensive sport with a $200,000 budget, compared to $350,000 for basketball and volleyball, and also its most successful. The team has won NJCAA national titles in 2002, 2007 and 2009 while finishing as runner-up six other years.
Coach Jason Haynes, the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year in 2003, has seen 36 juco All-Americans pass through the program in his 11 seasons.
The board of regents meet today to finalize the new budget.
dale.robertson@chron.com
From www.chron.com
Tennis Capsules: Roddick lifts US past Chile to Davis Cup quarters
Mar 6th
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Andy Roddick showed why he’s the go-to guy when the United States needs to close out a Davis Cup tie.
Roddick defeated Paul Capdeville 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-3 Sunday, giving the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead in its 4-1 victory over Chile in the first-round Davis Cup World Group series.
Roddick improved 12-0 in matches that can clinch a Davis Cup matchup for the U.S. and is 33-11 overall in 24 ties since 2001.
“It’s always sweet, and every time you clinch one you think it’s the sweetest,” Roddick said. “I think it’s also pretty satisfactory when everything is stacked against you — you got the (clay) court, the crowd. It’s a mental grind and you have to try and ignore everything.”
John Isner finished off the 4-1 victory with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 win over Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz in the meaningless second reverse singles. It was Isner’s first win in four Davis Cup singles matches. He has two wins in doubles.
The victory was the first for new U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier, who played on the 1992 and 1995 winning Davis Cup squads.
“I like the way all of our guys responded to adversity out there,” he said. “John’s match was a very important match for us as a team to have him go out there and battle through and have him win in singles.”
The U.S. and Chile could have abandoned the dead-rubber fifth match under a new Davis Cup rule because the first reverse singles match went four sets, but Isner and Rivera-Aranguiz elected to play.
“It was important for him to come out of this not just feeling he had a win, but that he played his tennis in that last match,” Courier said. “And the same thing for Andy, in that match today he played a better brand of his tennis against a guy who probably had the best weekend of his career.”
The Americans advanced to the quarterfinals and will play at home in July against Rafael Nadal and Spain, 4-1 winners over Belgium this weekend. Roddick’s hometown of Austin, Texas, is being considered as the host, along with San Antonio and Albany, N.Y.
The U.S. team last played a home series in March 2009, beating Switzerland 4-1 in Birmingham, Ala.
“I think it’s been no secret that I’ve wanted that (to play in Austin), so I certainly appreciate the effort put forward and hopefully we can get it,” Roddick said. “It would be a dream come true to play at home a really cool experience.
“A guy named Rafa coming to town will provide a little bit of energy. It’s as good a second round as I’ve ever seen. Any place will be good, as I’m just happy it will be on U.S. soil.”
In the other first-round World Group series Sunday, defending champion Serbia handled India 4-1, Argentina closed out a 4-1 victory over Romania, Russia salvaged two matches in a 3-2 defeat to Sweden, Germany beat Croatia 3-2 when Philipp Petzschner outlasted Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), France ousted Austria 3-2, and Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin lifted Kazakhstan to a 3-2 upset of the Czech Republic.
The No. 165th-ranked Capdeville was behind a break in the first set when he broke serve in the sixth and eighth games to go ahead 5-3 and serve out the set in the ninth game.
The No. 8-ranked Roddick patiently waited for his opportunity to pull away from Capdeville in the second set tiebreaker, taking a 5-0 lead.
“I wanted to make a boxing match out there,” Roddick said of his strategy against Capdeville. “I wanted to take his legs out first and foremost.”
Capdeville had little to give in the third set, and failed to convert two break-point chances while trailing 2-4 in the fourth.
Capdeville saved one match point on his serve in the eighth game, but couldn’t stop Roddick from closing out the match on his serve with a forehand crosscourt winner on his second match point.
“I thought the Chilean team showed a lot of character this weekend,” Roddick said. “They competed very hard. They never gave an inch and made us earn our victory.”
Nadal extends Spain’s lead over Belgium
From www.brownsvilleherald.com
Nadal gets in practise as Spain advance in Davis Cup
Mar 6th
Charleroi, Belgium – Rafael Nadal got in some helpful match time Sunday as the world number one cemented his return to tennis after a month out with injury as he planted Spain firmly in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup, 4-1.
The Spaniard then confirmed that after missing Davis play during 2010, he is ready to commit to the July quarter-finals against the US which could well be held in Austin, Texas, home base for Andy Roddick. The Americans beat Chile in Santiago with Roddick nailing the winning point.
‘I plan to play in the Davis Cup,’ said Nadal. ‘My decision is always that I will play, but I don’t know what will happen in four months, if I will be tired or as fresh. I can’t say.’
Nadal, who missed February play to let a hamstring injury heal, won both of his singles rubbers in the tie, which Spain clinched on Saturday 3-0, with a doubles victory.
Nadal’s 6-4, 6-2 result Sunday over Olivier Rochus for 4-0 was just an added bonus as the Spaniard prepares to head to the start of next week’s Indian Wells Masters 1000 in California. Belgian Steve Darcis took a point as he defeated Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.
In Novi Sad, there was a win for holder Serbia, playing without the services of national number one Novak Djokovic, who opted to rest for the tie against India.
The Serbs clinched a 3-1 lead as Viktor Troicki fired 11 aces and 40 winners on the way to the singles victory, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. Janko Tipsarevic completed the weekend as he beat Karan Rastogi 6-0, 6-1.
Troicki saved a pair of break points in the final game to complete his win in one and three-quarter hours. ‘It’s a great feeling to be in the last eight of the competition because this means we have stayed in the World Group,’ he said.
‘It gives us a chance to carry on with our title defence. I raised my game after struggling Friday, my focus was sharper because I expected a long and tough match.
‘We know it’s going to be very tough against Sweden – a 3-2 winner over Russia – and we hope to have our Novak back for that tie.’ In Zagreb, there was home disappointment for 2005 winner Croatia as the hosts lost 3-2 to Germany.
Marin Cilic kept Croatia in the chase as he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) only to have Germany clinch it as Philipp Petzschner beat the big serve of Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5).
Sweden eased past Russia 3-2 with the visitors winning Sunday’s two dead rubbers through Dmitry Tursunov and Igor Andreev.
From www.monstersandcritics.com
Nadal gets in practise as Spain advance to Davis Cup quarters
Mar 6th
Charleroi, Belgium – Rafael Nadal got in some helpful match time Sunday as the world number one cemented his return to tennis after a month out with injury as he planted Spain firmly in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup.
Nadal, who missed February play to let a hamstring injury heal, won both of his singles rubbers in the tie, which Spain clinched on Saturday 3-0, with a doubles victory.
Nadal’s 6-4, 6-2 result over Olivier Rochus for 4-0 was just an added bonus as the Spaniard prepares to head to the start of next week’s Indian Wells Masters 1000 in California.
The weekend victory assures 2009 champion Spain of a July date in the worldwide team competition against either Chile or the US.
In Novi Sad, there was a victory for holder Serbia, playing without the services of national number one Novak Djokovic, who opted to rest for the tie against India.
The Serbs clinched a 4-1 lead as Viktor Troicki fired 11 aces and 40 winners on the way to the singles victory, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. Janko Tipsarevic completed the weekend as he beat Karan Rastogi 6-0, 6-1.
Troicki saved a pair of break points in the final game to complete his win in one and three-quarter hours. ‘It’s a great feeling to be in the last eight of the competition because this means we have stayed in the World Group,’ he said.
‘It gives us a chance to carry on with our title defence. I raised my game after struggling Friday, my focus was sharper because I expected a long and tough match.
‘We know it’s going to be very tough against Sweden – a 3-2 winner over Russia – and we hope to have our Novak back for that tie.’
From www.monstersandcritics.com
Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggle to Tunisia win in Davis Cup
Mar 5th
Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggle to Tunisia win in Davis Cup
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 5:16 PM on 5th March 2011
James Ward will have the chance to wrap up victory for Great Britain’s Davis Cup team against Tunisia after Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming ground out a less than impressive win in today’s doubles rubber at Bolton Arena.
The highly-ranked Scottish pair were expected to waste little time polishing off Malek Jaziri and Slim Hamza but in fact it took them two and a half hours to edge the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the Europe/Africa Zone Group II tie.
After defeat for Jamie Baker and victory for Ward in the opening singles rubbers yesterday, it was essential Britain took a lead into the reverse singles tomorrow.
Fighting chance: But Team GB’s Jamie Murray and Colin Fleming struggled through against the Tunisian pair
Jaziri proved himself to be as dangerous as his ranking of 325 in the world suggested in beating Baker yesterday and his meeting with fellow number one player Ward tomorrow was not one the hosts wanted to go into having to win to stay in the tie.
That will not be the case but, after Murray and Fleming had romped through the opening set, today’s match was a topsy-turvy one that could well have gone the distance.
The British pair were made to pay for failing to take advantage of three break points in the third game of the second set as Jaziri and 18-year-old Hamza, who impressed on his debut, stepped up their level to break Fleming and level the match.
The third and fourth sets both featured multiple breaks of serve, with the British pair fighting back from 3-0 down in the final set and then saving more break points in the eighth game before Fleming eventually sealed victory with an ace.
Talking tactics: Murray and Fleming plan their attack in the fourth set
Captain Leon Smith said: ‘It was maybe a little bit trickier than we had expected. The young guy actually played really well, he started making a lot of balls and his backhand was pretty good.
‘And Jaziri showed again he’s a pretty talented player. But I thought the boys responded well in that fourth set and really started showing why they’re the established tour pair.’
Fleming, for whom today was a third successive Davis Cup victory after wins over Lithuania and Turkey with former partner Ken Skupski, pinpointed their failure to break early in the second set as a key moment.
He said: ‘We played really well in the first set and won it pretty easily and then we had the 0-40 game at the start of the second set.
‘I think because they held their serve there it gave them quite a lot of belief. But it was a good fun match and it’s just nice to get a win and make it 2-1.’
Job done: Tunisia’s Slim Hamza and Malek Jaziri congratulate the British pair
Murray, who was making his first appearance in the competition since 2008, added: ‘It wasn’t the best performance but even though things were getting a bit closer in the fourth set I didn’t ever really think we were going to lose.’
Smith is expecting a close match between Ward, who will find the pace somewhat different to his 6-0 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Sami Ghorbel yesterday, and Jaziri.
He said: ‘I think it’s going to be good tennis in the morning. It’s a good match between two guys at a pretty similar level. I think Jaziri’s more like a guy ranked 200 or 250. He hasn’t played that much tennis in the last year.
‘It was good to see Jaziri playing Baker because, while we’d had some footage of him playing before, it wasn’t against a great opponent.
‘We learned a lot more so at least we know what to expect now and we can start talking a little bit more strategically tonight about how James can go about that match tomorrow.’
Today’s result also means Britain have the cushion of being able to afford a defeat first up tomorrow knowing Baker would be a heavy favourite in the deciding rubber, where Tunisia could be tempted to play Hamza rather than Ghorbel.
From www.dailymail.co.uk
Roddick wins, but U.S., Chile at 1-1 in Davis Cup
Mar 5th
SANTIAGO, Chile — John Isner played another long match. This one ended before he could pull out a win.
The American, who won the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon last year, lost a five-set marathon to Paul Capdeville on Friday, leaving the United States with a split of its Davis Cup matches against Chile after Andy Roddick took the opener.
More Davis Cup
- Bracket | Past Finals | Champions
The 165th-ranked Capdeville gave Chile a big lift in the first round by rallying to defeat Isner 6-7 (5), 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4.
“It’s always really difficult to win when you’re two sets behind,” said Capdeville, Chile’s highest-ranked player. “The people were screaming every point and I never felt tired. I always was saying, ‘Come on, Come on, I can do it, I can do it.’
“And I did it.”
Isner served 38 aces to 11 for Capdeville, but the Chilean had the only break in the next-to-last game of the 4-hour, 21-minute match when a tired Isner netted an overhead smash.
Isner won the record-setting match at Wimbledon last year, beating Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the fifth set after 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days.
Roddick opened with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Nicolas Massu, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in singles and doubles.
“It was fun to get out there and battle again,” said Roddick, making his first Davis Cup appearance since 2009.
Jim Courier, in his debut as the U.S. Davis Cup captain, was not surprised that the first day ended with a split.
“I’m proud of both of these guys for going to battle out there and it went the way we thought it would today,” said Courier, who helped the U.S. win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995. “We don’t control outcomes, we control efforts and both John and Andy gave great efforts today.
“We have to tip our hats to Paul, he hung in there. All week we kept hearing the Chilean team is the underdog, underdog, underdog, but we knew we were going to see this.”
A tired Isner, who said he was beginning to cramp at the end of the match, dumped an overhead smash into the net on his second break point of the ninth game of the fifth set. That put Capdeville in position to serve out the match.
“I didn’t play the big points well,” Isner said. “I made too many mistakes and I just let it get away from me.
“He played better than me so he deserves it.”
Capdeville, who was treated on court for a left thigh problem in the fifth set, had a 15-40 advantage on Isner’s serve in the fifth and seventh games of the fifth set. Isner managed to save his serve on both of those occasions.
Capdeville won one of 11 break-point opportunities, while Isner was unsuccessful on eight break-point chances.
Doubles in the best-of-5 World Group series is Saturday, with top-ranked Bob Bryan and brother Mike facing Jorge Aguilar and Massu. Reverse singles are Sunday — Roddick vs. Capdeville and Isner vs. Massu. The first-round winner plays Belgium or Spain in the quarterfinals.
The U.S. entered the series with the rankings in its favor — Roddick is No. 8 and Isner No. 32. None of the three Chileans is in the top 150.
Elsewhere in the first round of the World Group, four countries took 2-0 lead: Spain (over Belgium), Sweden (over Russia), Argentina (over Romania) and France (over Austria). Tied 1-1 were Serbia-India, Czech Republic-Kazakhstan and Germany-Croatia.
In Charleroi, Belgium, Rafael Nadal returned to top-level tennis with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over 144th-ranked Ruben Bemelmans. Nadal is coming back from an injury to his left thigh, and this was his first match since his loss in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
“I felt really comfortable with myself and I felt I had the match under control,” the top-ranked Spaniard said. “It is not easy to come back after a while without competition.”
In Novi Dad, Serbia, Davis Cup champion Serbia is missing Novak Djokovic, who is fatigued after winning titles at the Australian Open and Dubai in recent weeks. India is without experienced doubles pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi because of injury.
Somdev Devvarman, ranked 629th, downed Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 (3) to give India a key victory.
At Buenos Aires, Argentina, David Nalbandian and Juan Monaco won for the Argentines, but Nalbandian aggravated a groin injury and strained his lower leg in defeating Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
From www.cbssports.com
Serbia stutter as India threaten Davis Cup upset
Mar 4th
NOVI SAD: Novak Djokovic’s decision to skip Serbia’s Davis Cup World Group first round tie looked increasingly risky as India threatened a shock on Friday by ending day one locked at 1-1 with the defending champions.
Viktor Troicki, who won the decisive match when Serbia beat France 3-2 in Belgrade in December, was given a torrid time by 629th ranked Rohan Bopanna, the world number 18 eventually winning 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.
India’s highest-ranked player Somdev Devvarman then bamboozled Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6 silencing the partisan Serb crowd in Novi Sad’s SPENS sports centre.
With an unthinkable first-round exit now a genuine possibility, Serbia will need all the experience of their doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic, who will team up with Ilija Bozoljac against Devvarman and Bopanna on Saturday.
“We definitely believe now we can win this tie and we will go out there to give it our best shot,” an elated Devvarman told reporters after his first career win against Tipsarevic who reached the final in Delray Beach last week.
“I feel for Janko because he probably didn’t have enough time to adjust from Delray Beach, where it was a lot warmer and that much easier to serve. I served well, kept fighting and always believed I could win the match.”
Tipsarevic, who won both his singles against the Czech Republic in last season’s semifinal, squandered a 4-1 lead in the first set, a 5-2 lead in the second and a 5-3 lead in the third as Devvarman grabbed his chances.
Troicki too showed only rare glimpses of his recent good form as he made heavy weather of a 31-year-old whose biggest claim to fame in tennis is his doubles partnership with Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.
Clearly rattled by the Indian’s serve and volley game, Troicki completely lost his rhythm in the third and fourth sets before regaining control to put Serbia 1-0 up.
“I am not happy with the way I played and I really didn’t expect such a tough match,” a visibly-tired Troicki told reporters after closing out the match in three hours 18 minutes.
“He is a doubles specialist and as such, he played a lot better than anyone might have expected him to.”
Djokovic was given the blessing of his team and captain Bogdan Obradovic after deciding to pepare early for the forthcoming Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells but the world number three will be watching on anxiously from afar as his compatriots try and subdue India over the weekend.
From timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Tennis Channel Nets Davis Cup Rights Renewal Through 2013
Mar 4th
Tweet Tennis Channel Nets Davis Cup Rights Renewal Through 2013 Also Extends Pacts For Fed, Hopman Cups Until 2015 Mike Reynolds — Multichannel News, 3/4/2011 3:28:58 PM
Tennis Channel has renewed its rights deals as the exclusive U.S. home to the tops in international men’s, women’s and mixed team tennis competitions.
The network reached extension agreements with the International Tennis Federation and the United States Tennis Association to remain the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of all Davis Cup (men) by BNP Paribas, Fed Cup (women) by BNP Paribas and Hyundai Hopman Cup (mixed doubles) competitions.
The deals, financial terms of which were not disclosed, maintains Tennis’ coverage of the American Davis Cup team on the network through 2013 and all other matches in the three most prestigious international team competitions in tennis through 2015
Tennis Channel’s coverage of the 2011 Davis Cup season begins with the U.S. team’s first-round tie against Chile in Santiago, Chile on March 4, at 9 a.m. (ET), with a pair of singles matches, followed by the doubles match on Saturday at 10 a.m. Tennis Channel’s live coverage concludes with the reverse singles on March 6, at 9 a.m. Each of the five matches is worth one point, with the team that wins at least three points advancing to the quarterfinals to face either Belgium or Spain July 8-10. Every evening at 8 p.m. Tennis Channel will encore its presentation of the day’s Davis Cup action.
Save for the American Davis Cup team, Tennis Channel has been the U.S. home of tennis’ three international team cups since it first went on the air in May 2003. (The network actually served a preview that April, prior to its official launch, with Fed Cup play – Venus Williams competed for the U.S. team in the first match to appear on the channel.) In late 2004 Tennis Channel signed its most-recent team cup extension, giving it exclusive television rights to all Fed Cup, Hopman Cup and non-U.S. Davis Cup action through 2010. U.S. Davis Cup matches first appeared live on Tennis Channel in 2006, before becoming exclusive to the network with a two-year agreement starting in 2009
“Tennis Channel viewers have always been passionate about Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Hopman Cup, which feature so many of the game’s elite playing for something bigger than personal glory,” said Tennis vice president of programming David Scott in announcing the new agreement. “The intense stadium crowds, gritty five-set matches and exhausted players on last legs contradict the notion of tennis as a quiet country club sport. When you see superstars jogging around the court draped in their nations’ flags or shedding tears during national anthems you can’t help but think of the Olympics, and we’re thrilled for the opportunity to keep bringing these great events to our audience.”
The United States has won the most championships in Davis Cup (32), Fed Cup (17) and Hopman Cup (five) competition.
From www.multichannel.com
NZ staring at Davis Cup defeat
Mar 4th
NZ staring at Davis Cup defeat in Uzbekistan
New Zealand are staring at defeat in their Davis Cup tennis tie against Uzbekistan after losing the both opening singles rubbers in Namangan today.
The New Zealand pair of Artem Sitak and Rubin Statham proved no match for their Uzbek opponents, losing both matches in straight sets in the Asia/Oceania group one tie.
New Zealand’s No.1 Sitak, making his Davis Cup debut, was downed 0-6 3-6 1-6 by Farrukh Dustov in the first singles match.
Russia-born Sitak could not live with the world No.284 on the clay at the Pahlavon Sport Complex.
Statham faced world No.54 Denis Istomin, a player ranked 442 places above him, and the gulf in class showed with Istomin’s serve a potent weapon in his 6-2 6-3 6-3 win.
The doubles tie is tomorrow, followed by the reverse singles on Sunday.
RESULTS
Farrukh Dustov (UZB)beat Artem Sitak (NZL) 6-0 6-3 6-1; Denis Istomin (UZB) beat Rubin Statham (NZL) 6-2 6-3 6-3. Uzbekistan leads tie 2-0.
– NZPA
From www.stuff.co.nz
