Silver Lining for Nole

Nole made an unexpected exit from the singles at Queens this week at the hands of Xavier Malisse, which I can’t shed any light on as I didn’t have court 1 tickets (I was watching Marin play doubles by himself, I mean with the incredibly useful Andre Sa as a partner, so all I saw of Nole’s match was the occasional spiky kitten-head bobbing up over the fence and, once, a racquet soaring into the air). Still, he doesn’t leave empty-handed, after teaming up with Israel’s Jonathan Erlich to take the doubles title, 67(6) 62 10-3 over Beck and Skoch.

I’d have rather seem him smooching a bigger trophy (and without assistance), but these days I will take any happy Nole I can get, sad to say.

D Cup: We’re Still Playing

And a moment for those still doggedly going at it in Coquimbo; Israel have kept the tie alive with a five set doubles victory over Chile, pegging the hosts back to a 2-1 lead going into the final day of singles action.

Paul Capdeville and Jorge Aguilar demonstrate the little-used ‘cock bump’ celebration.

Ram and Erlich, thankfully, opt to hug it out.

Tomorrow sees Fernando Gonzalez take on Dudi Sela and Nicolas Massu facing Harel Levy.

D Cup QFs: Not This Time, Shamil

Israel 3 Russia 0

My favourite thing about this picture? A toss-up between Levy’s grin and Sela’s jaunty scarf.

Israel pulled off what has to be one of the more surprising results in Davis Cup history, clinching the doubles rubber to secure their first ever D Cup semifinal. Jonathan Erlich and Andi Ram beat Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn in five sets, 63 64 67(3) 46 64.

After their brilliant success on the first day, I felt strongly that Israel had to win the doubles in order to clinch the tie. (And no, I did not steal that thought from AmyLu, who as we’ve established is always right. I arrived at it independently, OK?). And as Erlich and Ram took the first two sets and took a seemingly unassailable lead in the third, it seemed like they were going to do it.

Ram served for the match at 5-4, but was broken and seemed overcome by nerves in the ensuing tiebreak. When the Russians took the fourth set, it seemed like Tarpischev was going to pull off another stunning comeback. But it was not to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as fond of Marat as the next girl. But it was such a great story for Israel to reach the semis. And one of the things that’s great about Davis Cup is that sometimes, the doubles specialists get to be the heroes. And so it proved.

So there you have it. Russia are out and Israel are into the semis, where they will face the winner of Spain-Germany. It’ll be a tough ask, but for now I bet they’re just enjoying themselves. Heartwarming stuff for captain Eyal Ryan and his men.

D Cup Quarterfinals: Russia vs. Israel

Tom Perrotta thinks that Israel has a good chance. I’m not so sure …

Drunk-like-a-fox Tarpischev has elected Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny for tomorrow’s singles ties with Harel Levy and Dudi Sela, with Marat being held in reserve for doubles on Saturday with Kunitsyn against Erlich and Ram.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not underestimating the headcase quotient of the Russian team – especially without token marginally sane member Kolya – but really, you think Andreev’s going to lose to Levy? Youzhny to Sela? Am I mad for thinking that the Russians’ chances look really strong here?

Friday
Harel Levy (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)

Saturday
Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) v Igor Kunitsyn/Marat Safin (RUS)

Sunday
Dudi Sela (ISR) v Igor Andreev (RUS)
Harel Levy (ISR) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)