Australia and the United States Lead 1st-Round 2017 Davis Cup Winners and Losers
Sixteen teams entered Davis Cup play, but Novak Djokovic was the lone superstar who showed up to help his country to victory. Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were absent, but only Switzerland suffered as a result.
Secondary stars like Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic and David Goffin were also absent, and it spelled doom for a couple of their squads. But don't tell that to Belgium and its gritty veteran leader who pulled off the weekend's biggest stunner.
On the other hand, Great Britain's win was overshadowed by a Canadian gaffe. What happened in the first round of Davis Cup 2017? Our "Winners and Losers" column hits the highs and lows.
Winner: Team Australia
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The most interesting team in Davis Cup competition? For the near future, Team Australia is a headline machine, win or lose. It has talent, heroes, villains and enough drama to be an all-star cast in Shakespearean theater.
This time around, 21-year-old star Nick Kyrgios showed up and smoked Jan Satral in straight sets. That’s news because a year ago teammate Bernard Tomic said that Kyrgios was faking injury to avoid playing in their first-round loss to the United States.
Not that Tomic is the paragon of class for the ATP Tour.
And where was Tomic this weekend?
Tomic snubbed Team Australia, allegedly, because his father, John, and Team Australia had issues about funding for Bernard's younger sister, Sara, Australian Associated Press (via ABC Australia).
Team captain Lleyton Hewitt didn't mince words about Tomic's absence, according to the Australian Associated Press (via ABC Australia): "This is his decision—not mine—I don't know the full extent of how serious he is to play Davis Cup for Australia."
Ouch.
One of these times, we will actually break down tennis with Team Australia. We will see them in the quarterfinals against the United States in April after Kyrgios and company ripped through the first three rubbers without dropping a set. It will be a rematch of last year's Aussie disappointment in the first round.
No faking with Hewitt's teammates and their efforts, but the same cannot be said about Tomic's motivations, or lack thereof.
Loser: Denis Shapovalov
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For all tennis players, young and old, recreational or professional, the case of Denis Shapovalov will be a sobering reminder of tennis etiquette.
The 17-year-old Canadian was playing Great Britain's Kyle Edmund in the fifth and deciding rubber. He was down two sets and 2-1 in the third and had just pushed an unforced backhand error off the court. He angrily grabbed another ball and smacked it off the court...right into the chair umpire's eye.
Shapovalov was disqualified, and Team Canada's waning hopes were over. It was a bizarre way to end a Davis Cup tie and a black eye for the event. Although he was clearly remorseful, his lack of composure cost him a chance to compete and marred an otherwise competitive series between the countries.
It also does not reflect well on Shapovalov who will no doubt feel the brunt of media articles and have to shed a label from a momentary lapse of reason.
Canada's Davis Cup captain, Martin Laurendeau, said in BBC Sport: "There's always a lesson to be learned from the good moments and the worst moments. If he wants to compete at this level, he has to keep it together. Emotional control is the biggest factor in this game. He must learn the lesson and hope it serves him in the rest of his career."
Yes, accidents happen, but loss of control is inexcusable. It will take time for this kid to prove that's not who he is.
Winner: Steve Darcis and Belgium
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Is there any country that has overachieved more often than Team Belgium in the past couple years? The Belgians were Davis Cup finalists in 2015 and pushed Croatia to five sets a year ago. This weekend, they were heavy underdogs to Germany because their best player, David Goffin, did not play.
Enter Steve Darcis, the veteran whose career highlight was defeating Nadal in the first round at Wimbledon 2013.
Darcis is a faithful Davis Cup contributor who has quietly chalked up a 21-8 singles record (although his 1-7 doubles record is better forgotten). He played like a No. 1 leader, taking down Philipp Kohlschreiber in Germany (which is notable considering that Kohlschreiber is far more excellent in his home country) by winning tiebreakers in the fourth and fifth sets of the first rubber.
Then he rallied back from a set and a break down to defeat rising star Alexander Zverev in the fourth rubber.
It was the performance of the week, all things considered, and it epitomized the passion for those committed to playing Davis Cup tennis.
Maybe Goffin will be around in April to play Argentina or Italy (depending on which country wins the fifth rubber that will be played Monday). Darcis could be a great sidekick if Belgium is to go on and win its first Davis Cup title. It's a long road with three more rounds to win, but there's something about Belgian tenacity.
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Losers: Croatia
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Goodbye, Croatia.
A couple of months after Cilic's collapse against Juan Martin del Potro that set up their loss to Argentina for the 2016 Davis Cup title, the Croatians are already out.
But don't blame the scrappy B-team that Croatia enlisted to try to defeat a deeper Spain squad. It's really a gutsy effort by Croatia that the team was able to push things to a fifth rubber. There was no Cilic, no Borna Coric and no Ivan Dodig. Not even Ivo Karlovic was there to slam a few aces and atone for his two-loss performance in the November final.
Apparently, Cilic was too tired to play, according to TennisWorld's Gatto Luigi, even though he had two weeks off after getting beat in the second round of the Australian Open.
Coric, a Davis Cup hero in 2015, is still miffed about being passed over for the Davis Cup final in November, but Team Croatia was concerned about his knee injury recovery, so it was understandable that it would show caution for their young star.
Even the Croatian fans were bitter about their prospects before the event, many of them asking for a refund when they learned their biggest stars would not compete, per Luigi.
That's usually the way it goes the year after a title bid. Ask Switzerland and Great Britain as recent examples.
Winners: Three Heavy Favorites
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Easy street for some of the big favorites.
The United States hammered Switzerland on home soil, but the victory is not as impressive as it sounds. The Swiss did not send out Federer or Wawrinka. Instead Jack Sock and John Isner cruised to victory, and the U.S. squad began a new era without the (Bob and Mike) Bryan Brothers, who are most likely retired from Davis Cup competition.
One oddity in the upcoming Australia-U.S. rematch: Last year, Australia hosted the Americans, and this year they will host again. This is a debt the U.S. will pay when Australia let it host in 1999 because of centenary celebrations.
France easily defeated Japan. They can trot out five top-20 players, and the host Japanese stood no chance without star Nishikori.
Serbia cruised to a 4-0 victory over Russia, including a win by world No. 2 Djokovic. Will he play against Spain in April? Would Nadal show up?
Not likely. The two superstars will no doubt be revving up for the clay-court season, and neither would want to give any kind of edge to the other, Davis Cup notwithstanding.
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