The upcoming quarterfinal of the Davis Cup between the national teams of Russia and France, the tournament organizers themselves call the battle of the two great captains. As proof of the greatness of Guy Forge, they cite the fact that in 1991 it was he, then the player of the national team himself, who brought the victory point in the final match with the Americans, beating Pete Sampras. True, then Sampras was not the first racket of the world, it happened two years later, and Forge himself was at the peak of his career, it was in 1991 that he occupied a record fourth place for himself in the ranking. But be that as it may, beating Sampras is a serious proof of greatness. Only a player, not a coach.
But to achieve captain's greatness Guy Forge all the time just a little but not enough. Even the victory of the French team in the Davis Cup in 2001 under his leadership looks a bit random. The French, by and large, owe this victory to the Australians, who Wayne Arthurs entered the court for the fifth decisive match against Nicolas Escudé instead of the planned Patrick Rafter, then the 5th racket of the world. In 2003, the Forge was prevented from moving along the grid by the Swiss, headed by Federer, in 2004, by the Spaniards, led by Nadal. And in 2002, 2005, and 2006, Russians stood in his way, led by the fearless Tarpishchev.
Shamil Tarpishchev, and this is not false patriotism, can be called a great captain without any stretch. Only on the French in the Davis Cup could Tarpishchev calmly make a coaching name. Three meetings - three miracles, and each time the French “died” in surprise.
In 2002, surprised Mikhail Youzhny. The South, who lost four out of five single meetings for the national team to the memorable match with Paul-Henri Mathieu, went out to play the decisive match instead of Kafelnikov and won, losing in sets during the meeting 0: 2.
In 2005, Igor Andreev brought the decisive point, scoring 6: 0, 6: 2, 6: 1 on the court of the same Mathieu. In that match, unexpected, rather, was the score, and not the victory itself. Even then, Andreev was able to do something on the ground - he went to the finals of four clay tournaments, one of them won by defeating Nadal on the road, and in another he lost to Federer, taking one set as a keepsake. But, probably, the factor of surprise again played a role. In the absence of Safin, the French probably waited for the South. And here is new again. Poor god Mathieu ...
In 2006, the French, as the receiving party, moved from the unlucky Bercy and changed the unlucky soil to the carpet, but it still did not help. And all because the new ones at Tarpishchev have not yet been transferred, and this time the victory, and ahead of schedule, was brought by Andriy Roddik’s future underground nightmare Dmitry Tursunov. On the one hand, Richard Gasquet, the first number of the French and one of the most promising station wagons on the tour, and on the other hand, Tursunov, calling the soil a coating for girls and pouring everything on this soil, including Carlos Cuadrado (225th in the rating) and Gilles Federico (246th) - remember these names, you may never hear them again. Well, how can the French not be stunned here?
And finally, this long-awaited moment has come, when in the game against the French, we can completely do without a miracle. Now the French have to rely on him to beat a team that has not lost at home since 1995, that is, 12 years.
Of course, Shamil Tarpishchev is on his guard - otherwise, how great would he be? He is concerned about the level of motivation in the team, which everyone is already sleeping and seeing in the semifinals. But hardly worth worrying about it. To win against the French this time with the strongest squad is already a matter of honor after all that was between us. In addition, our motives have quite different motives, which, perhaps, are not directly related to the Davis Cup, but should somehow affect. Just everyone in the team should calmly and without fuss do their job.
Nikolay Davydenko is not a fan of the Davis Cup, in any case in childhood, according to him, he did not dream about him. We were just lucky that Davydenko’s personal plans coincided with Tarpishchev’s plans. The match will be held in Moscow, that is in Europe, we will play on the ground - an ideal opportunity in combat conditions to prepare for a series of European clay tournaments. And you can help the country without having to travel to distant lands. And Nikolay can very much help. The most stable of the Russians, Davydenko, regardless of the circumstances, shows decent results. True, he does not jump above his head, but in this case this is not necessary. And the lack of mood for an opponent who is lower in the rating and who needs to be beaten is not about him. In addition, Davydenko traditionally feels good on the ground, and an early flight to Miami gave him the opportunity to relax.
And Marat Safin is just a fan. He jokes that the Davis Cup is the only competition where he has recently won at least some matches. It is unlikely that Marat considers the match with the French as preparation for the dirt season - he is now in the wrong position. He just loves this tournament and doesn't like to disappoint his audience. Now Safin is not in the best shape, but with such a composition this is not a tragedy: Marat will at least play the role of cement for bricks - when there is Safin in the team, one cannot believe in victory.
Andreev after Chile fell into a psychological hole. So laid out against Gonzalez, that then even on his favorite ground he lost to the most famous rivals in the early stages. And on Igor’s hard, it didn’t work out. But all this has nothing to do with the Davis Cup - on it Andreev the devil himself is not a brother. And here is still your favorite soil, your favorite audience, that same audience, by the way, with the support of which Andreev in 2005 won an almost hopeless match against Nicholas Kiefer in the final of the Kremlin Cup.
South has a similar situation. He got so angry - he won Rotterdam, in Dubai he was in the final, that after that he caught an easy down in American tournaments. But now he rested, this is the main thing. Yuzhny now has a new rule: when he is fresh, he simply shows miracles of stability, well, just the second Davydenko.
The draw took place the day before, and at the very beginning we have a surprise. Not Safin will open the match on the first day, as is usually the case and as we are used to. Shamil Tarpishchev says that Marat recently received a microtrauma. But Safin is paired up. For some reason, it seems that this is again some tricky plan and it should work.
Ksenia VITRYAK