By Stuart Fraser in Astana
At the age of 28, many players will still feel they can do a good job for their country in Davis Cup.
For Dias Doskarayev, though, his playing days are in the past and he now finds himself as one of the youngest Davis Cup captains. He’s in charge of Kazakhstan.
Remarkably, it is 14 years ago this weekend that he made his playing debut for Kazakhstan at the age of 14 in a dead rubber against Sri Lanka which he lost in three sets.
Doskarayev said: “I was just happy to sit there on the bench and cheer for the guys. When I got a chance to play, of course I was nervous. I couldn’t even remember what was going on in the first set but it was exciting.”
The Kazakh had a brief spell on tour, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 945 in 2001, but it is his first win in a live rubber against the Philippines in 2001 which he remembers most.
“It’s a match you remember for the rest of the life” said Doskarayev, who was aged 17 at the time. “When you are playing in the line-up on the first day it means a lot. The team and the country hopes you are going to win. I remember I was shaking.”
Although he has not played a tournament since 2004, Doskarayev still takes advantage of the opportunity to have some time on the court with his team.
He said: “I hit with the guys. Obviously, I am not practicing on a regular schedule. But, of course, sometimes you want to jump in there.
“It’s maybe easier to be on the same page in terms of helping the guys do that and this, hitting and trying to help. That is a good experience.”
You wouldn’t believe these facts about Idaho
By Sandra Harwitt in Boise
Beyond the fact that Idaho is known for its potatoes, not many Americans know all that much about the 43rd State to join the United States of America. So there’s no reason to think many people around the world know much about Idaho either.
But there’s definitely some interesting facts about this northwestern state.
For starters, Idaho is bordered by six other states: Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana. It is also bordered by the country of Canada.
Idaho is the only one of the 50 states that official seal was designed by a woman. It was Emma Edwards Green who designed the Idaho seal in 1890.
Idaho has produced 72 types of precious and semi-precious stones through the years. People first moved out to these parts as silver and gold seekers.
The first Alpine chairlift was used in the Sun Valley ski area in 1936. Back in those days there was a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly ski pass, so those wanting to use the chairlift were charged 25 cents per ride.
In Idaho it is against the law to give an Idahoan a box of candy which weighs more than 50 pounds. This law does not come with an explanation as to why you would give somebody such a large box of candy nor for why it needs to be illegal to do so.
And here’s the final Idaho fact for all to enjoy.
Remember Sarah Palin? We might remember as the former Governor of Alaska who was tapped to run for Vice President of the United States with Arizona Senator John McCain in 2008 -- they lost in case you didn’t hear the news. Well, Palin had her start in the world as Sarah Louise Heath, born February 11, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho.