Davis Cup 2016: 1st round ties (4th - 6th March)

Here are the ties and rosters:

Great Britain v Japan (Birmingham, indoor hard)
GB: A. Murray, K. Edmund, J. Murray, D. Inglot
Japan: K. Nishikori, T. Daniel, Y. Nishioka, Y. Uchiyama

Serbia v Kazakhstan (Belgrade, indoor hard)
Serbia: N. Djokovic, V. Troicki, F. Krajinovic, N. Zimonjic
Kazakhstan: M. Kukushkin, A. Golubev, A. Nedoyvesov, D. Popko

Italy v Switzerland (Pesaro, indoor clay)
Italy: A. Seppi, P. Lorenzi, S. Bolelli, M. Cecchinato
Switzerland: M. Chiudinelli, H. Laaksonen, A. Bossel, A. Bellier

Poland v Argentina (Gdansk, indoor hard)
Poland: J. Janowicz, K. Majchrzak, L. Kubot, M. Matkowski
Argentina: L. Mayer, G. Pella, C. Berlocq, R. Olivo

France v Canada (Guadeloupe, outdoor clay)
France: J-W. Tsonga, R. Gasquet, G. Monfils, G. Simon
Canada: M. Raonic, V. Pospisil, F. Dancevic, D. Nestor

Germany v Czech Republic (Hannover, indoor hard)
Germany: P. Kohlschreiber, A. Zverev, D. Brown, P. Petzschner
Czech Republic: T. Berdych, L. Rosol, J. Vesely, R. Stepanek

Australia v USA (Melbourne, outdoor grass)
Australia: B. Tomic, N. Kyrgios, S. Groth, J. Peers
USA: J. Isner, J. Sock, M. Bryan, B. Bryan

Belgium v Croatia (Liege, indoor clay)
Belgium: D. Goffin, R. Bemelmans, K. Coppejans, A. De Greef
Croatia: M. Cilic, B. Coric, I. Dodig, M. Draganja
 
My thoughts about each tie:

GB v Japan: GB should have the advantage if Murray is fit and focused, which he might not be after his paternity leave. Murray should have few problems with Daniel/Nishioka, and Nishikori should have few with Edmund, so the first day will likely end 1-1. GB seems stronger in the doubles, so should go into Sunday leading 2-1. The two clashes on Sunday could both go either way, so Japan definitely has a shot, but with GB likely to be up 2-1, they must be favored.

Serbia v Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan have done well in the Davis Cup in recent years, but they don't have much chance against a full-strength Serbia.

Italy v Switzerland: Not much chance of the Swiss making a run to rival their 2014 title when they are missing both their two world-class players. Italy are probably favorites for all four singles matches.

Poland v Argentina: Seems pretty evenly matched. Poland wisely chose not to play on clay. I wonder whether it would have been worth Argentina's while bringing Del Potro along. I presume that Kubot will be the Polish #2, even though he's listed third.

France v Canada: Interesting choice to play in Guadeloupe, presumably to take advantage of the fact that the Canadians are mostly fast-court players. If I were French captain, I'd probably play Gasquet and Monfils, and not Tsonga, who struggled in Latin America. Raonic can be decent on clay, but prefers hard. Pospisil not much of a clay-court player. France favored but it could be an exciting tie!

Germany v Czech Republic: One of the most even ties of the round. Berdych favored for both ties, but could lose either (Zverev pushed him recently). Interesting to see whether they pick Rosol or Vesely as #2.

Australia v USA: Probably wise to play on grass, as Isner doesn't move well there and Sock has too much spin on his forehand. USA should probably have played Querrey. USA will likely win the doubles, so Australia needs to make hay in the singles. On-form Kyrgios (and Tomic?) will be a big help.

Belgium v Croatia: The hosts will be heavily reliant on Goffin, which is probably why they played on clay (also Cilic's weakest surface). Even on clay, Bemelmans will likely lose both ties, so they will need Goffin to pick up two wins, which won't be easy. Croatia probably slight favorites.
 

tipsa...don'tlikehim!

Talk Tennis Guru
With Raonic withdrawing it is pretty much a free pass for France to the next round.
Tsonga played 2 clay tournaments for nothing, while Simon, Gasquet and Monfils were all playing on hardcourt lol, poor Tsonga,

Very interesting tie on paper between GB and Japan, as well as Australia vs USA.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Apparently the balls are bouncing low at Kooyong which is great news for Tomic but bad news for big serve Isner and Kyrgios who is struggling with a hip issue. Kyrgios wasn't training today, Tomic was however. So looks like Tomic is definite but not Kyrgios. If Kyrgios pulls out that gives us Groth who is usually a good player but he's had a shocking start to the year with 7 losses and 1 win. These have come at the hands of players ranked; 51, 52, 2, 181, 82, 245 and 1045. So not promising if he plays singles.
 
Apparently the balls are bouncing low at Kooyong which is great news for Tomic but bad news for big serve Isner and Kyrgios who is struggling with a hip issue. Kyrgios wasn't training today, Tomic was however. So looks like Tomic is definite but not Kyrgios. If Kyrgios pulls out that gives us Groth who is usually a good player but he's had a shocking start to the year with 7 losses and 1 win. These have come at the hands of players ranked; 51, 52, 2, 181, 82, 245 and 1045. So not promising if he plays singles.

Low bounce is probably bad news for Sock, too. USA really should have brought Querrey. Possibly even Ram, considering the conditions.

Isner and Kyrgios will still be hard to break on a low (and irregular) bouncing court. But Isner in particular will struggle to get down to low balls.
 
With Raonic withdrawing it is pretty much a free pass for France to the next round.
Tsonga played 2 clay tournaments for nothing, while Simon, Gasquet and Monfils were all playing on hardcourt lol, poor Tsonga,

Very interesting tie on paper between GB and Japan, as well as Australia vs USA.

Yeah. Stupid decision by Tsonga, professionally, but he got a nice holiday in South America. I suspect that was part of his motivation - and that of Isner and Sock, too. All three may have wanted to stay in the Southern Hemisphere to minimize flying time.

GB v Japan: first two days should be fairly predictable. Hard to see Murray or Nishikori lose on day one, or GB lose the doubles. Day three could be rip roaring.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
Yeah. Stupid decision by Tsonga, professionally, but he got a nice holiday in South America. I suspect that was part of his motivation - and that of Isner and Sock, too. All three may have wanted to stay in the Southern Hemisphere to minimize flying time.

GB v Japan: first two days should be fairly predictable. Hard to see Murray or Nishikori lose on day one, or GB lose the doubles. Day three could be rip roaring.
JWT got more vacation than he bargained for but he's now ready a bit more for the clay they will play on in Guadeloupe and had a shorter trip there too. He should win if he plays two rubbers now that Raonic is out.
 

Meles

Bionic Poster
With Raonic withdrawing it is pretty much a free pass for France to the next round.
Tsonga played 2 clay tournaments for nothing, while Simon, Gasquet and Monfils were all playing on hardcourt lol, poor Tsonga,

Very interesting tie on paper between GB and Japan, as well as Australia vs USA.
I'd add Germany and Czech Republic to the list. Zverev gets to deal with those Czech clowns. If Berdych wears his HK stuff from last year the camera might break for the group photo. Anything with Stephanek and Brown is going to be entertaining.
 

Tennis_dude101

Professional
That's a bummer that Kyrigos isn't fit to play. Groth is going to have to step into his shoes now with Hewitt taking his spot in the doubles.
I'll be attending the proceedings on Friday and Saturday to cheer the team on!! ;)

TD
 
I'll be surprised if Australia wins. Tomic has not had a lot of time to adjust and isn't 100%, Groth has been awful this year, etc.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Friday

R1 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R2 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)

Saturday

R3 - Samuel Groth/John Peers (AUS) v Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)

Sunday

R4 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R5 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)


Australia times though.
 

stringertom

Bionic Poster
I'll be surprised if Australia wins. Tomic has not had a lot of time to adjust and isn't 100%, Groth has been awful this year, etc.
I'd rather see Rusty play #2 singles than Groth...he actually won a round at AO and grass will give him a better chance vs Sock.
 

vive le beau jeu !

Talk Tennis Guru
... and marcos equals borg's DC single streak (33) ! :)
http://www.sigmalive.com/en/sports/...-equals-bjorn-borgs-record-for-davis-cup-wins

of course he didn't have to face the same opposition as borg did... but it's still a cool record to have ! ;)
... and one it takes time to build !
pame... and now 34 !
350x700px-LL-3efc7289_greenstars.gif

  1. baghdatis 34
  2. borg 33
8qQE807KiYTGpdeP_+CepQ==

in estonia (tallinn)
 
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Meles

Bionic Poster
Friday

R1 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R2 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)

Saturday

R3 - Samuel Groth/John Peers (AUS) v Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)

Sunday

R4 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R5 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)


Australia times though.
Will feeds exists for this?
 

HipRotation

Hall of Fame
Edmund has been replaced by the Mighty Evans. Seems like a shrewd move given that Evo leads the H2H against Nishi ;)
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Liam Fitzpatrick

Professional
Strong field means some great ties Belgium V Croatia stands out for me with cilic V Goffin and also Murray V nishi should be a cracker.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Australia v USA beginning soon, coverage has started in Australia.

Groth v Isner, might be boring.. both massive servers.
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
Friday

R1 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R2 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)

Saturday

R3 - Samuel Groth/John Peers (AUS) v Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA)

Sunday

R4 - Bernard Tomic (AUS) v John Isner (USA)
R5 - Samuel Groth (AUS) v Jack Sock (USA)


Australia times though.
What ? what happened to the HOTTEST player in ATP tour ???? the unbeatable Nick ?? too busy with video games ?
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
LOL,, tennis channel commentator just said Nick Kyrios is Ill and/ OR injured ...............LOL. otherwise MIA in middle earth...
 

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
USA could go up 2 nothing after today....Jack Sock is very very good on grass also. What a surprise.... Aussies were huge favorites on grass on this one...........LOL
 
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