Davis Cup 2011: Mixed Results for Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

Post US-Open tennis fever was well underway last weekend, and it was just as it had been in the last few years: weary, slightly disorienting, and, here and there, surprising.

For one thing, we didn't get our dream Davis Cup final. There is no doubt that all eyes had been on the two biggest ties—the semifinals between Spain and France, and Serbia and Argentina.

As it turned out, Spain got through, with considerable assistance from Rafael Nadal, who trumped both Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

For many moments in both matches, it was as if 2011, and his 0-6 record against Djokovic, had never happened. This was, after all, the Rafael Nadal of Davis Cup, playing on the clay he has always loved. For the first time in a while, Nadal returned to the tennis heavens.

Argentina, on the other side of things, somewhat stunned their Serbian opponents, who must have sensed a good opportunity with a 64-2 Novak Djokovic on their team.

But Del Potro played solid, the Argentines won the crucial doubles rubber, and Djokovic looked weary from his 2011 epic matches.

In the end, Del Potro earned his first ever win over Djokovic, courtesy of a retirement—in another, perhaps less glamorous return to older days—to bring Argentina to an unassailable 4-1 lead. It could hardly have been executed better.

All the way down under, Roger Federer sought to overturn a Switzerland losing streak against Australia, whom they had never beaten.

Things looked gloomy after the third rubber, when Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka lost the doubles to Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione.

It seemed a crucial blow, but Federer got his act together and downed Bernard Tomic in the fourth match.

While the tie could hardly have ended on a more dramatic note—with Wawrinka and Hewitt having to come back the next day to complete a match suspended at 5-3 in the fifth, with the Swiss to serve.

In the end, Switzerland overcame some bad history, and Federer did, too. He had never gotten over his loss to Hewitt in 2003, when he had held a two sets to love lead.

Here, the Aussies had a two rubbers to one lead, but were unable to capitalize.

So we shan't see Djokovic-Nadal on a clay court in a Davis Cup final. Instead, we might get something equally enticing—the prospect of an Argentine revenge, seeing as they lost in a 2008 final they should never have lost.

Djokovic is in danger of ruining the chance for an inimitable record-setting year. He is now 64-3, and would have to more or less go without a loss for the rest of the year to overtake McEnroe's 82-3 record in 1984.

For Federer, too, things look interesting after this short Davis Cup excursion. Will this boost to the Swiss' confidence prompt him to greater things on his nation's behalf in 2012?

There were some interesting results over the Davis Cup weekend.

The clay king returned, the real king faltered, and the old king got a little bit of revenge.