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Murray Mania at Queen’s club
The recently concluded Davis Cup Quarterfinals, which took place from 17th-19th July, brought with it a lot of exciting tennis and passionate support from the fans, as always. Out of the 8 countries that were playing, Britain, Australia, Argentina, and Belgium managed to qualify for the semifinals.
Great Britain managed to defeat France 3-1, with World No. 3 Andy Murray fighting exhaustion to play all 3 days at the Queen’s Club. There were many instances of players slipping on the grass with Simon twisting his ankle during his match against Murray.
French captain Arnaud Clement said that the court was “a bit dangerous” , as Simon was more scathing in his assessment.
Match Results:
| Venue: The Queen's Club, London, GBR (grass – outdoor) |
|---|
| Gilles Simon (FRA) def. James Ward (GBR) 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Andy Murray (GBR) def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 7-5, 7-6(10), 6-2 |
| Andy Murray/Jamie Murray (GBR) def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-1 |
| Andy Murray (GBR) def. Gilles Simon (FRA) 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-0 |
Hewitt’s heroics saves the day for Australia
Hosts Australia completed a remarkable turnaround against Kazakhstan, coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2. Aussie veteran Lleyton Hewitt proved to be the hero when he won the decisive singles match against Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Sam Groth played his part by beating Mikhail Kukushkin to level the tie.
The irony is that, initially, neither Hewitt nor Groth had been selected to play the singles matches, with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios having been selected to play, but once Australia went 2-0 down, captain Wally Masur decided to replace the youngsters. His decision proved to be effective with Australia winning their next 3 matches.
Match Results:
| Venue: Marrara Sporting Complex, Darwin, AUS (grass – outdoor) |
|---|
| Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) def. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) def. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 |
| Sam Groth/Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. Andrey Golubev/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2 |
| Sam Groth (AUS) def. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-3, 7-6(6), 4-6, 7-6(6) |
| Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 76(2), 6-2, 6-3 |
Team Serbia missed Novak Djokovic
Serbia, without Wimbledon hero and World No.1 Novak Djokovic lost 1-4 to Argentina in Buenos Aires. Argentina had wrapped up the tie after winning their first 2 singles matches as well as the doubles match and Serbian Dusan Lajovic prevented Argentina from having a clean sweep by winning his match against Diego Schwartzman.
Although having made the semifinals of the Davis Cup 8 times in the last 10 years, Argentina still hasn't won a Davis Cup title, and would be trying to change that this year.
Match Results:
| Venue: Tecnopolis, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – indoor) |
|---|
| Leonardo Mayer (ARG) def. Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 |
| Federico Delbonis (ARG) def. Viktor Troicki (SRB) 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Carlos Berlocq/Leonardo Mayer (ARG) def. Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Dusan Lajovic (SRB) def. Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-1, 6-4 |
| Carlos Berlocq (ARG) def. Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-1, 3-0 ret. |
Belgium blank Canada 5-0
Canada suffered the ignominy of being completely routed 5-0 by hosts Belgium. The tie had already been clinched by Belgium when they won the doubles match against Daniel Nestor and Adil Shamasdin on Saturday.
Canada’s captain Martin Laurendeau was visibly disappointed: “We were hoping to come away with a better result but it didn’t turn out that way. All we can do now is look ahead to next year and hope for a good draw so we can come back and try and do it again.”
Match Results:
| Venue: Sportpark Krokodiel, Middelkerke (Ostend), BEL (clay – outdoor) |
|---|
| Steve Darcis (BEL) def. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 |
| David Goffin (BEL) def. Filip Peliwo (CAN) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Ruben Bemelmans/Kimmer Coppejans (BEL) def. Daniel Nestor/Adil Shamasdin (CAN) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 |
| Kimmer Coppejans (BEL) def. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Steve Darcis (BEL) def. Filip Peliwo (CAN) 6-4, 6-3 |
In the semifinals, which are going to be held from 18th to 20th September, Great Britain host Australia, while Belgium play hosts to Argentina.
