 Photographer: Andrei Golovanov/Sergei Kivrin
Date: 05 Mar 2010 |  Photographer: Golovanov/Kivrin
Date: 05 Mar 2010 |  Photographer: Andrei Golovanov/Sergei Kivrin
Date: 07 Mar 2010 |  Photographer: Golovanov/Kivrin
Date: 05 Mar 2010 |  Photographer: Golovanov/Kivrin
Date: 11 Apr 2008 |  Photographer: Andrei Golovanov/Sergei Kivrin
Date: 13 Apr 2008 |
|
| 08 Mar 2010 - Moscow, Russia - RUS v IND - Richard van Poortvliet | |
| Russia contemplates Argentina re-match |
Mikhail Youzhny has for so long been Russia’s unsung Davis Cup by BNP Paribas hero, living in the shadow of Marat Safin or Nikolay Davydenko.
Of course the Muscovite has had his moments; none more so than his incredible comeback from two sets down to help Russia win their first Davis Cup crown against France in 2002.
However, in Russia’s first round tie against India, the world No. 13 showed just how valuable and dependable he has become to his team, winning both his singles matches, despite being hampered by back pains, to guide Russia through to the next round and give his captain, Shamil Tarpishchev, who turned 61 on Sunday, the perfect birthday present.
India - playing its first World Group tie since 1998 - can be proud of its performance, especially given the fact that they didn’t have a singles player ranked in the Top 100.
But the Indians will look back at Friday’s opening match-up, where Somdev Devvarman was a point away from moving into a two sets to love lead against Igor Kunitsyn, who only knew an hour before the match that he would be playing, as a missed opportunity.
“It was a very important game and we were up in a very commanding position and had we won that, things could have been a lot different,” said India’s captain, Shiv-Prakash Misra, whose team now face a World Group Play-off in September, to see if they can prolong their stay in the World Group for another year.
Following Kunitsyn’s important victory, with the exception of a doubles master class by Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, there was never any real doubt that Russia wouldn’t win the tie.
Even without the injured Davydenko and Igor Andreev, the home side still had too much quality for their opponents, with all of Russia’s four singles players ranked above their Indian counterparts.
Things will now get a lot tougher for Russia as it will play Argentina in the quarterfinals in July at home, in a repeat of the 2006 Final in Moscow, where Tarpishchev’s team was victorious.
“Of course it’s better to stay at home in Russia, but I understand against Argentina it will be really tough,” said Youzhny.
Come July, both sides will be hoping to welcome back key players like Davydenko and Juan Martin del Potro, who both missed their team’s respective matches.
However, if Argentina wants to make the semifinals, it will have to become the first nation since USA in 1996 to win on Russian soil.
Russia will be looking to extend its unbeaten home record to 18 matches, spanning 14 years, while Tarpishchev, who started coaching the Soviet Union in the competition way back in 1974, could notch up his 50th win as captain.
Related links
> Tie information
> Audio interviews
> Scorecards & stats
> Russia wins 17th consecutive home tie
> Paes and Bhupathi give India hope
> Russia takes commanding lead
> India ready for long awaited World Group tie
Related website
> Russian Tennis Federation
> Information from India - AITA
|
Español
