HOPMAN CUP XVII 2005
The real action, however, kicked off the following day with the qualifying round between Zimbabwe (late replacements for the French team) and the Netherlands, the winner of which would enter into Group B along with Australia, the USA and Slovakia. I did not have tickets for this tie, however it was the Dutch that prevailed with Michaella Krajicek winning her match over Cara Black 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0 and Peter Wessels beating Wayne Black 7-6 7-5.
The first tie that I went to see was the one between Argentina and Italy on Sunday 2 January. After Gisela Dulko lost her opening singles match to Francesca Schiavone 1-6 3-6, it was up to world number 7, Guillermo Coria, to keep the tie alive for Argentina. There was drama within the first few games, as Davide Sanguinetti injured his foot. The trainer was called and Davide continued playing, however, it was obvious he was hampered and he only managed to win one game, Coria taking the set 6-1. The second set was far more closely-contested as Sanguinetti was able to move more freely. Games went with serve until it was actually Sanguinetti that broke at 3-2. Coria was able to break back soon after though, despite losing his temper over a line call at 6-5, and forced a second set tie-break. During this tie-break, the Argentine again got worked up over a line call, but was able to hold it together and win the tie-break 7-4, thus securing a live mixed doubles match to determine the winner of the tie. The mixed doubles is generally enjoyed by both spectators and players alike and this match was no exception. All 4 players put on a great show with many thrilling rallies, and it was the Argentinians that eventually prevailed 7-5 6-0, winning the tie overall. The oncourt interviews afterwards also proved entertaining with Sanguinetti having to interpret for Coria who didn't speak English!
Sitting in the hotel lobby afterwards waiting to go home, I happened to see Marat Safin and his coach, Peter Lundgren, arriving from the airport! Marat was as good looking as ever and was quite happy to sign some autographs and greet people, despite having just come in off a long flight. He also chatted briefly to Anastasia Myskina, Tommy Haas and Andreas Egli (one of the umpires) before heading off to his room.
The next tie I went to was the Monday night session between Russia and Germany. I watched Myskina practise for a little while beforehand, then I thought Marat might come afterwards, but he didn't, so I went to the main court to see the womens' match. Anastasia played pretty well, though Anna-Lena Groenefeld didn't give up all that easily. In the end, Myskina's experience showed and she won 6-3 6-3, giving Russia a 1-0 lead in the tie. This was followed by the men's match. It was great to have 2 such quality players here in Perth, and even better was the chance to see them play against each other. Tommy Haas is currently ranked 17 after a great comeback year in 2004 and Marat Safin is the world number 4, so, as you can imagine, it was a pretty high standard of tennis. I wasn't sure how Marat would be, having only just arrived the day before and having to cope with climatic differences and jet lag. The tournament had had to change its schedule around to fit in with his last-minute Russian commitment on New Year's Eve and so, instead of playing Davide Sanguinetti first up, he now had to face in-form Tommy Haas - a much tougher ask. The opening set went with serve for the first 7 games until Tommy broke at 4-3, going on to win it 6-3. This is precisely what I'd feared might happen. Marat, however, seemed to wake up a bit in the second set and, with some sublime shots, was able to take the set 6-3 and level the match. When it's already 9pm and you're suffering from jet lag, having to play a third set against a Top 20 player is not exactly ideal. Marat's energy was starting to flag and, though he still fought hard, he was unable to match Haas and it was the German who won the match 6-1 in the third. So, once again, it was going to be a live mixed doubles to decide the tie. There were some super rallies throughout the match and the 4 players really gave it their all. The German pair won the closely-contested first set 7-5, however, the Russians lifted their game and stormed through the second set 6-1. At one set all, the rubber was then decided by third set Match Tie-break, which is the first team to 10 points with a 2 point advantage. The Russians got an early break, but lost it straight away, and it ended up being the Germans who capitalised on this and won it 10-6. So the number 1 seeds, Russia, had suffered an early defeat, with Germany winning the tie overall. Russia now had a day's break, which would hopefully allow Marat to sleep off his jet lag, as they have to win both their next 2 ties against Argentina and Italy to reach Saturday's final. Fingers crossed they can do that!
Wednesday morning was the tie between Russia and Argentina, a must win for the Russians. Myskina gave her country a head start when she beat Dulko in 56 minutes 6-2 6-1. So if Marat could win his match against Coria, the tie would be sealed. Coria, however, got the first break of serve at 3-3 but was not able to consolidate and Marat broke back to level at 4-4. Towards the end of the set, Safin was getting visibly angry and his inability to hit winners was really frustrating him. It finally resulted in him throwing his raquet quite violently, typical Marat style! The first set was decided in a tie-break, during which Marat's frustration grew and grew, while Coria remained calm and won it 7-4. The second set was no better, on the contrary, it was much worse! Marat could not seem to find his rhythm and sent many balls flying wildly beyond the baseline. Like a giant volcano about to erupt, his anger was bubbling dangerously close to the surface and he grimaced and muttered away to himself. Coria lived up to his nickname of "the Magician" by producing some great tennis and he capitalised on the Russian's self-destruction to win the set 6-1 and level the tie. So, once again, the mixed doubles would be the decider, and this time it would also determine whether Russia bowed out of the tournament or not. Right from the start, the Argentinian pair of Dulko and Coria looked the sharper and the keener of the 2 teams and this proved to be true within the first few games when they were able to get an early break on Myskina's serve. They didn't look back from there and took the set 6-2. Sadly for the Russian pair, it was just one of those days. They both seemed lethargic and were not able to co-ordinate well as a couple. Dulko was even able to get a few winners off Safin's serve! The Muscovites couldn't even get on the board in the second set, as the Argentinians ran away with it 6-0. So Russia's Hopman Cup campaign had ended in tears. The Number 1 seeds had suffered 2 tie losses: firstly against Germany and today against Argentina, meaning they were out of contention for Saturday's final. Both Myskina and Safin seemed disappointed in their oncourt interviews and Anastasia added, "I hope we can do better next year". Hopefully they do get the chance to come back next year!!! They still have one more tie to play on Thursday night against Italy, but from now on, all eyes will be on the tie between Argentina and Germany (also on Thursday night) to see who will be the finalist from Group A. It will definitely be a tough encounter!
