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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Friday, February 9 |
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| Sluiter gives Dutch shock lead over Spain | |||
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EINDHOVEN, Netherlands -- Victories by Dutch
pair Raemon Sluiter and Sjeng Schalken left champion Spain on the
brink of early Davis Cup defeat on Friday.
Sluiter, a last-minute replacement for the injured Richard
Krajicek, made a glorious debut as he won a thrilling five-set
tussle with Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-7, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Sluiter's immense effort, full of heart and fight, was
followed by a less spectacular but arguably even more impressive
victory for Schalken, who coolly dissected Carlos Moya 6-4, 7-5,
6-4.
Spain, 2-0 down in the first round and with a must-win doubles in
prospect on Saturday, played all their ties at home last year on
their favorite clay courts. The contrast in conditions in the
opening match of their defense was as marked as could be.
Ferrero -- who won both his matches in the final against
Australia in Barcelona last December -- watched helplessly early
on as the ball pinged off the unfamiliar and incredibly quick
Supreme Court carpet surface.
The big-serving Sluiter, one of the few players to hit
two-fisted on the backhand and forehand, recovered from losing
the opening set and then clawed back from 2-1 down to force the
decider.
Tiring match He then came from a break down in the last to clinch the match as a tiring Ferrero hit his last two service returns long. "Hats off to Sluiter," said Spanish coach Jordi Arrese. "He was behind throughout the match but kept coming back, saving his best tennis for when he was most in trouble. "He played incredibly well to beat Ferrero, who could hardly have played any better himself." While Ferrero was at first outblasted, then outlasted by Sluiter, Moya was simply outplayed by Schalken. The tall, angular Dutchman was elegance itself as he tied Moya up in knots, serving intelligently and finding angles with his groundstrokes that left the Australian Open quarterfinalist dumbfounded. With what appeared to be a minimum of effort, Schalken broke Moya in game nine of the first and game 11 of the second to go two sets up. Moya took a few more risks in the third but he repeatedly left himself open to the pass as he approached the net and Schalken rarely missed his target. "It was a little more comfortable than I thought it would be," Schalken said. "I'd beaten Moya a couple of times before so I knew it was possible but I could also see how tough it was going to be. Finding his weakness "His serve is so strong but when I got him on the rallies I knew I had a chance. I think he felt uncomfortable out there." Moya was left furious at the end of the match as what he saw as a long forehand from his opponent was called in on the penultimate point. He threw his racket into the net as he walked off court still furious at what he thought was a bad decision. "The ball was so clearly out," he said. "I can't believe it wasn't called. "Everyone's entitled to lose their temper on court once in a while, though. It's completely normal. These things happen." He added: "I expected Schalken to make more mistakes. He was brilliant from the back of the court and never gave me an easy ball." Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells, who beat Mark Woodforde and Sanford Stolle in straight sets in Barcelona, will need to overcome Paul Haarhuis and Schalken if Spain are to remain in the competition. | |
ALSO SEE Gambill pulls U.S. even against Switzerland Haas crushes Moldovan while Kiefer falls Rafter, Hewitt give Australia 2-0 lead against Ecuador Davis Cup results Kuerten overcomes poor start to give Brazil lead Ulihrach puts Czechs ahead against Sweden Clement fights back to give France early lead Russia, Slovakia split singles matches Dutch face tough Davis Cup tie against champion Spain | |
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