Cilic leads Croatia to Davis Cup glory

Day Three of the Davis Cup Final in Lille, France

France (1) v Croatia (4)

Rubber Four

Lucas Pouille (France) v Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Jérémy Chardy was replaced by the higher ranked Lucas Pouille for France in what could be the Cup winning match, should Cilic prevail.

Set one was a servers delight, Cilic facing no break points, and Pouille saving two, the first in the third game, and the second critically at 4-4, with a drop shot - dangerous option but well executed.

A tie break was appropriate considering how close the set was contested, and after each player had won a point against serve the score was 3-3.  

Cilic then took control.  After the Croatian won a point on serve to lead 4-3, Pouille hit a backhand long, and Cilic produced a clean winner.  On the first of three set points, a backhand did the trick and Croatia was one set closer to claiming the Cup.

The second set again was frustrating for Pouille who couldn’t find a way through the Cilic serve.  A touch of bad luck with the bounce contributed to a French error and a break point in the fifth game, and another mistake presented Cilic with the decisive edge.

Pouille was down 2-5 and 0-40, but saved four set points to remain alive.  Only for a moment though, as Cilic clinically served out for a two set advantage.

As in set two, Cilic chose the fifth game in set three to break the Pouille serve, and at 3-5 the Frenchman fell victim to a perfect Croatian lob on the third Cilic match point.

The match was over 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3, and Croatia won the 2018 Davis Cup, its second ever victory.

In the final set, Cilic won 16 of 18 points on his serve.

Marin Cilic won both his matches in the final in straight sets, and his serve remained unbroken throughout each contest.

The fifth rubber wasn’t played.

France win doubles for 1-2 in Davis Cup

Day Two of the Davis Cup Final in Lille, France

France (1) v Croatia (4)

Rubber Three

Pierre-Hugues Herbert / Nicolas Mahut (France) v 

Ivan Dodig / Mate Pavic (Croatia)

French hopes of retaining the Davis Cup were rather lean after the first day, needing to win both the doubles and each of the reverse singles rubbers.  This hadn’t been done since Australia defeated the USA in 1939.

The team of Herbert and Mahut, previously world number one in doubles, and three times Grand Slam title winners, shared the first six games with the Croatian pair in set one.

Dodig, on a third game point in the seventh game, saw his serve passed first by Herbert.  Mahut repeated the dose to bring up break point.

Herbert, with all four players at the net, punched a backhand at the feet of Pavic, and the French pair achieved the break, leading 4-3.

The set was accordingly won 6-4.

Dodig again was suspect on serve in set two, after things were even for eight games.  A double fault put the Croatian team behind 15-30 and at 15-40 another double fault donated a service break to France.

Mahut served out for 6-4 and a two set lead.

All appeared lost when Croatia was broken in the opening game of set three, and had to save four break points at 0-2.

However, they did escape from the third game, and later broke the serve of Herbert for 3-3.

Mahut dropped serve in the eighth game and Pavic served out the set 6-3, with the fifth successive game for Croatia.

In a tense fourth set, the French team fought off three break points in a lengthy first game to hold serve.  Each team then held serve without facing a break point until the tenth game where a Mahut return and a Herbert forehand, were compounded by a Pavic double fault to achieve triple break point.

Four serves, plus a drop volley, saved Pavic and it was 5-5.

A tie break eventuated.  

A Herbert forehand against serve set the early pace and it was all France from there, converting the first match point to win 6-4 6-4 3-6 7-6(3)

Herbert and Mahut hit 41 forehand winners between them, and saved seven of nine break points for the match.

After Day Two 

France 1 Croatia 2

Croatia lead 2-0 in Davis Cup final

Day One of the Davis Cup Final in Lille, France

France (1) v Croatia (4)

Rubber One

Jérémy Chardy (France) v Borna Coric (Croatia)

Chardy opened proceedings with a nervous service game including two double faults and several errors, mainly off his forehand. Still he had a number of game points, all of which were wasted, and Coric achieved the break - that was the signal for him to control the match.

After such a long game, Coric won the next three without losing a point to lead 4-0, and the set was soon his 6-2.

For the set, Coric won 16 of 19 points on serve, whereas Chardy could only manage 17 of 36.

Both players saved break points in the third and fourth games of set two,  and Chardy was far more competitive. However, Coric snapped the impasse at 5-5, and ran out the set 7-5.

An injury time out didn’t stop the young Croatian who faced no further break points and won 6-2 7-5 6-4.

Rubber Two

Jo-Wildried Tsonga (France) v Marin Cilic (Croatia)

Cilic served well throughout, not allowing Tsonga into the match.  The Frenchman showed flashes of brilliance, but he was unable to match Cilic who won 20 of 21 points on his serve in set one, and jumped all over any weakness on the Tsonga second serve.

One service break was enough to secure the set 6-3.

Tsonga had two break chances in the eighth game of set two, but couldn’t convert, and it was Cilic with a big forehand return winner that broke for 6-5.  An easy service hold followed and Croatia had a two set lead.

Eight aces and 14 winners from Cilic in the third set, and he used the only break opportunity given him to maximum advantage.  Tsonga wasted all three of his.

The match was all Cilic’s 6-3 7-5 6-4, an almost identical scoreline to the first match.

After Day One

France 0 Croatia 2

Davis Cup Final - France v Croatia

The curtain will be drawn on this tennis season with the final of the 2018 Davis Cup in France this week.

France (1) v Croatia (4)

Dates: 23-25 November 2018.

Venue: Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France

Surface: Clay - Red Clay, Indoor

Teams

France

Captain: Yannick Noah

• Lucas Pouille - singles ranked 32, doubles ranked 215
• Jeremy Chardy - singles ranked 40, doubles ranked 138
• Pierre-Hugues Herbert - singles ranked 55, doubles ranked 12
• Nicolas Mahut - singles ranked 201, doubles ranked 11
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - singles ranked 259

Croatia 

Captain: Zeljko Krajan

• Marin Cilic - singles ranked 7
• Borna Coric - singles ranked 12, doubles ranked eq 778
• Franko Skugor - singles ranked 492, doubles ranked 28
• Mate Pavic - doubles ranked 4
• Ivan Dodig - doubles ranked 35

2017 Champion France is missing its three highest ranked singles players - Richard Gasquet, Gaël Monfils and Gilles Simon, so is starting behind the eight ball in this contest, especially with 2016 runner up Croatia having its top two players available.

However the home court advantage cannot be discounted, and Lucas Pouille is a quality player whose ranking belies his true capacity - he was in the top ten in March this year.

Zverev triumphs in the ATP Finals

The final of the Nitto ATP Finals in London was played on Day Eight.

Novak Djokovic (1) v Sascha Zverev (3)

Against all the evidence, and in particular the way Djokovic handled Zverev in the round robin match, the German young gun produced his finest tennis when it mattered most to upset the world number one and capture the biggest title of his career.

Sascha served magnificently in the first set, not allowing Djokovic to rule the court with his outstanding returning.

It was the pressure towards the end of set one, where Zverev was able to return the Serb serve so effectively that swung the match.

Down break points only twice before in the tournament, Djokovic faced another in the ninth game, and Zverev converted it, breaking the previously unshakable number one.

The set was Zverev’s a game later.

Set two began with three more service breaks, including two more of the Djokovic delivery, and Zverev remained composed for the remainder of the match.

He saved a break point in the sixth game, Novak’s last gasp effort, and won convincingly 6-4 6-3, breaking the Djokovic serve for the fourth time of the match, in the final game.

In set two, Zverev shattered the Djokovic second serve, winning 11 of the 13 points on it.

10 aces to 1 for the match, and six break points created, compared to just one, are a couple of key stats which helped Zverev realise his triumph.

To win the tournament, having beaten second seed Federer in the semis and top seed Djokovic in the final, says so much about the performance of Sascha Zverev, who is now the youngest ever winner of the ATP Finals.

The 2019 ATP year now has even more to offer, with real challenges to the usual suspects come the majors.

Djokovic to play Zverev in London final

Semi finals day was Day Seven of the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

Group Guga Kuerten

1. Novak Djokovic (1) 3-0 600 points
2. Sascha Zverev (3) 2-1 400 points
3. Marin Cilic (5) 1-2 200 points 
4. John Isner (8) 0-3 0 points 

Group Lleyton Hewitt 

1. Roger Federer (2) 2-1 400 points 
2. Kevin Anderson (4) 2-1 400 points 
3. Dominic Thiem (6) 1-2 200 points 
4. Kei Nishikori (7) 1-2 200 points 

Semi Final One:

Roger Federer (2) v Sascha Zverev (3)

The opening set was a solid close fought affair, with no break points given away for eleven games. Federer had been relying a bit more on his second serve, but no concerns until Zverev hit him with a series of deep returns at 5-6.  Federer was put off balance and eventually broken, handing the set to Zverev 7-5.

Severely hurt by the loss, Federer struck back in the third game of set two, converting a break point with a winning backhand.

Zverev, at 21 the youngest player left in the tournament, 16 years the junior of Federer, immediately rectified things by cracking open the Swiss serve the very next game.  Pinning Federer to the baseline with a carefully planned ground stroke offensive, the German was displaying a maturity which had enabled him to secure 56 match wins to date in 2018.  His only down side was his average return from Grand Slam tournaments.

For the remainder of the set it was quality serving, Federer winning over 80% of points on his delivery, Zverev an impressive over 90%.

The tie break was an extension of the server domination for 9 points, but Federer, on the tenth, ran to the net and failed to put his forehand volley over the barrier.  6-4 Zverev and two match points.  One saved with a great forehand and follow up volley put away by Federer.

However Zverev’s delightful backhand volley on the next point won him the tie break and the match 7-5 7-6(5).

A top class win in a high class contest.

A big finish for Sascha Zverev in 2018, whatever the outcome in the final - he is the first player from Germany to reach the finale since Boris Becker in 1996, and the youngest since Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.

Semi Final Two:

Novak Djokovic (1) v Kevin Anderson (4)

Kevin Anderson relies heavily on his serve, especially the first delivery, and Novak Djokovic managed to break the South African in the first game of the opening set, a signal of what was to come.

Anderson was low on first serve percentage and Djokovic was having a hearty meal on the second serve from the fourth seed.

A wayward Anderson forehand contributed a second break of serve to the Serb, and he proceeded to win the set 6-2 in 39 minutes.

Djokovic won 75% of points on his second serve, and Anderson won just 31% on his.

Set two began in the same manner as the first, with Djokovic cracking open the Anderson serve, and the ultimate damage came in the fifth game, sealed with a Djokovic cross court forehand from behind the baseline.  He led 4-1 with serve to come.

While that forehand was incredible for most players to envisage playing, it has become standard for the world number one, as too have all the winners flowing from a backhand which is one of the best ever seen.

Novak allowed Kevin the privilege of holding his final service game for the year, before nonchalantly serving out the semi final 6-2 6-2 in an hour and fifteen minutes of immaculate tennis. A stinging stat showed Djokovic serving more aces than Anderson.

Anderson completed a fine 2018, his best season yet.  A Wimbledon final, including epic wins over Federer and Isner, a career high ranking of five in July, and career best year end ranking of six.

Novak Djokovic defeated Sascha Zverev in a round robin match just a few days ago, surrendering a mere five games.  It will be a more competitive contest in the final, but to expect anything but a Djokovic win would to be ignore his unbeaten run to this stage, no sets lost and service held throughout, only two break points faced and saved.

Young guns exciting men’s tennis

The future of men’s tennis is promising just looking at where things stand at the end of 2018.

At long last there is a growing list of young players making sufficient inroads to give tennis followers hope that the transition from the ‘Big Four’ dominance of the major tournaments may not be too far away.

Of course the ‘Big Four’ notation is being challenged by a ‘Big One’ just for now, but circumstances could invalidate that too as Novak found in 2016.  Nothing is guaranteed secure.

The following players ended 2018 with career high rankings:

11. Karen Khachanov, aged 22,  ranked 45 at start of 2018
12. Borna Coric, aged 22, ranked 48 at start of 2018
13. Fabio Fognini, aged 31, ranked 27 at start of 2018
14. Kyle Edmund, aged 23, ranked 50 at start of 2018
15. Stefanos Tsitsipas, aged 20, ranked 91 at start of 2018
16. Daniil Medvedev, aged 22, ranked 65 at start of 2018

Apart from Fabio Fognini, who had previously reached #13 in March 2014, the other 5 climbed to their current ranking through their 2018 exploits.

Because of the ages of those five young guns (add 19 year old Alex de Minaur who moved from 208 to 31 in 2018) there is likely to be an excitement generated in men’s tennis in 2019 to match that which is already apparent on the women’s tour.  A changing of the guard beginning, at least at the edges, Sascha Zverev already mixing it in the top five at 21, Dominic Thiem solidly in the top ten and still only 25.