No matter how much they say on the eve of the Davis Cup matches that these are special competitions, where not only the balance of personal meetings, but also the position of tennis players in the ranking are not decisive, most fans still continue to measure the balance of power with the same indicators as in ordinary tournaments ATP tour. And for the tennis players themselves this sin is found.
Marat Safin, for example, in every pre-match interview assured: “Of course, we are outsiders in the confrontation with the Chileans. We arrived almost the second part. And they play at home, on a surface convenient for them. And the trump card of the South Americans is Fernando Gonzalez. "
If Safin said this without guile, then he did not want to put up with his words. As proved in the first match - against the second number of Chileans Nicholas Massa. Of course, in this game the Russian tennis player just had more rights to consider himself a favorite. But confirming this status was incredibly difficult.
At the beginning of the first set, the confident play of both on the pitch immediately turned into a series of mistakes at the reception. But at least one plus point in Safin’s game was obvious: Marat didn’t play on earth so badly as he had predicted the day before. And confirmation of these observations came very soon. With a score of 4: 3, the Russian made a spectacular break, being stronger than the Chilean in both long draws and skillful reception with a short cross-country race. And then Marat took the game and on his serve - 1: 0 on sets.
Safin began the second batch even more aggressively. He took a point on the opponent’s serve in the third game - 2: 1. In the next three Massa stepped up. The Chilean won the game on his pitch and twice had breakpoints on a stranger, but could not realize them. For which he immediately paid. Safin quite easily made another break and then, also without a chance for an opponent, took his serve - 6: 2.
Boxers would say: knockdown. But it is a fall that some athletes need to get angry and effectively stand up. Massu almost succeeded. In the third set, he led 2-0 with a break. But here Nicholas’s fuse was gone. Safin won six games in a row and brought the Russian team the first point.
The second was to play Fernando Gonzalez and Igor Andreev. And no matter how unpredictable the Davis Cup matches, the chances of a Russian tennis player in this meeting were not even discussed. No hay posibilidades, as they say in Chile, or according to ours: no options.
However, after the first set, won by Gonzalez with a score of 6: 4, it became obvious that you can compete with Fernando. Chilean was not as fast as two weeks earlier in Australia. And, most importantly, he was quite mistaken.
Fernando started the second set successfully, having made a break in the third game. But then, miracles dear to Russian fans began on the court of La Serena. In the most difficult long game, Andreev took the opponent’s pitch, then - his own and went ahead - 4: 2. Gonzalez still maintained concentration and equalized. But the Russian immediately responded with two games won, and the score of the parties was 1: 1.
If this set were Igor’s only success, he could already be praised for his character. But that was only the beginning! In the third set, Andreev took three games in a row and made Gonzalez not only make more mistakes, but also get nervous. Chilean now and then appealed to the judge, was extremely dissatisfied with the state of the court, into the pits of which his supporting leg fell into the pits. Andreev was envious and accurate to envy. Even when at the end of the game Gonzalez played two setballs in a row, Igor was not taken aback, squeezed his opponent and led 2-1 on the sets.
But even then, doubts about the ultimate success of the Russian tennis player were quite great. But with the beginning of the fourth set they began to melt rapidly. Andreev won five consecutive games! And the stands of the Campus Deportivo Universidad stadium, half an hour ago roaring like a football torso, plunged into mourning silence. Gonzalez had the strength for a few minutes to bring them back to life by playing two games. But only that.
However, it is too early to talk about the inevitable victory over the Chileans. It will certainly be much harder to get a decisive point in any of the three remaining matches than on a good Friday. Shamil Tarpishchev, the captain of the Russian national team, has already announced that he wants to put the winning point in the Saturday doubles, and therefore, instead of Teymuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn, previously announced for this match, he is giving up the best forces - Safin and Andreev.
Andrey IVANTSOV