By Chris Oddo | Monday, April 7, 2014
Fabio Fognini brushed off Saturday's doubles defeat and became the catalyst in Italy's come-from-behind victory over Great Britain on Sunday.
Photo: AP
It's always tough to pen the Heroes and Zeros column on the Monday after a Davis Cup weekend. The very nature of the competition, with its patriotic fervor and rambunctious energy, seems to be the impetus for a spontaneous combustion of a myriad of heroes. Throw in a few surprisingly compelling WTA events, and we have gone beyond our heroes quota for the week. What's a writer to do? Write an extra long column, we suppose...
More Davis Cup: Federer Leads Swiss to Victory | Fognini Upsets Murray | France Comes Back from Brink
Here's the lowdown on the heroes and zeros, with a caveat: If we leave somebody out it's not because he or she wasn't heroic last week—it's simply because there is only so much time in the day.
Hero: Fabio Fognini
We must start in Naples, Italy, and not because we have always have been partial to the clay-court stylings of Fabio Fognini, but because of the sheer magnanimity of what the San Remo native accomplished in his takedown of Andy Murray on Sunday. With everything on the line, Fognini meticulously picked apart one of the game's elite players in a must-win match. And please do not play the Andy Murray isn't any good on clay card here, because Murray IS GOOD on clay—he's a three-time French Open quarterfinalist!--and furthermore, Murray is and has been flat-out awesome in Davis Cup over the years.
And yet, somehow, Fognini proved himself to be a far superior player on this day, in a match that was as big as it can possibly be, both for himself and for Italy. In leading Italy to its first World Group semifinals since 1998, Fognini had to overcome the disappointment of playing a bad doubles match on Saturday. “I was really angry after the match and during the night,” Fognini told DavisCup.com, “but this morning I woke up and said ‘OK, let’s go, put your face in the court like always,’ and I was right today.”
Hero: Gael Monfils
The theme of redemption was also ripe in Nancy, France, as both Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Julien Benneteau overcame shock singles losses on Friday to contribute significantly to France's epic fightback against Germany. Benneteau teamed with Michael Llodra to snatch the doubles tie, and Tsonga won the fourth rubber by hammering Tobias Kamke. But the real hero in France was Gael Monfils, who answered captain Arnaud Clement's bell with an exhilarating victory over the red-hot Peter Gojowczyk of Germany.
Like Fognini's clutch performance against Murray, Monfils came in like a flame-throwing closer and shut down the dangerous German from the outset. Oh, and ridiculous athleticism like this didn't hurt Monfils' cause either:
“I’m just so proud of my players,” captain Clement told DavisCup.com, “because coming from 2-0 down on the first day was not easy. There was a fantastic reaction from them, starting with the doubles. Germany showed a lot of spirit and energy – it’s a real team - but I just knew that my players would give more than 100 percent for the rest of the tie.”
Hero: Andrea Petkovic
Across the pond from where most of the World Group was doing its thing, Andrea Petkovic was making a stunning return to form at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C. Petkovic rumbled to the third—and biggest—title of her career by offering up a mixed bag of supreme shotmaking and gritty, mature fortitude. After losing only one game in her second and third round matches, Petkovic battled past Lucie Safarova and Eugenie Bouchard in three sets before finishing off first-time finalist Jana Cepelova with a solid, inspiring performance, replete with gusto and Petko-dancing.
Of course many fans know Petkovic for her on and off-court theatrics--the blogging, the dancing, the Petkorazzi--but the following quotes by the German sum up her authenticity and point to another of her many talents: She is a genuinely cool and upbeat person.
“I just wanted to get back to why I started playing tennis, because I had fun playing it and because I love the sport, and I think it's the most amazing sport out there. For me. Everybody has their own opinion obviously, but for me it's one of the most beautiful sports out there, and I just needed to remind myself why I started in the beginning, because it was fun, and just getting back to playing tennis and not trying to win matches all the time, you know.
“That's obviously a reason why I play, but it's not the reason why I play, and I just needed to remind myself and it came together this week, and I'm very thrilled about that.”
She's not only a hero on the court, Petko's also a hero in the press room.
Hero: Peter Gojowzcyk and Andrey Golubev
Not being a household name didn't do anything to deter Peter Gojowczyk of Germany and Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan from sending shockwaves through Davis Cup on Friday. Each put forth a performance for the ages, as Gojowczyk took down Tsonga in a five-setter which proved to be the match of the weekend, and Golubev stunned Stan Wawrinka in Geneva. Read more about their heroics here.
Hero: Serbia
Ana Ivanovic won her 13th career title in Monterrey, taking down compatriot Jovana Jaksic, 6-2, 6-1. The victory marks Ivanovic's second title of 2014. Combined with her stirring upset of Serena Williams in Australia and the fact that she's 19-5 on the season and it's logical to assume that Ivanovic is undergoing a bit of a renaissance in 2014. Could her next stop be the top 10?
But the real hero was Serbia in Monterrey, as Ivanovic and Jaksic played the first all-Serbia final in WTA history. How is that this has not happened before? Still, it's a reminder of how far Serbia has come in such a short period of time, and what a valuable asset that nation has been to the diverse talent pool of the WTA.
Hero: Czech Davis Cup
No Berdych? No problem. The Czechs rolled to their 11th straight Davis Cup victory in Tokyo to keep their bid for a three-peat alive.
Hero: The Kids in Charleston
Jana Cepelova, Belinda Bencic and Eugenie Bouchard made a fine go of it at the Family Circle Cup, as three players age 20 or younger nudged their way to the semis of this premier-level event. Per the WTA, that's quite an achievement:
20-year-old Cepelova knocked off Serena Williams en route to her first career title, with no coach and nary a friend in her box. Bencic, just barely 17, qualified for the main draw and proceeded to work her way within a whisker of the final, knocking off world No. 11 Sara Errani in the process. Bencic was the first 17-year-old to reach the semis in Charleston in 17 years (how's that for symmetry?)
Bouchard was the other 20-year-old to reach the last four, and she came within a set of reaching the final. She will rise back to a career-high No. 19 in the rankings, while Cepelova moves from 78 to 51 and Bencic comes all the way from 140 to make her top 100 debut at 91.
But the best part of Cepelova and Bencic's week was the semifinal that they played on Saturday. We've got special posts on that one, here and here, in case you missed them:
Hero: Roger Federer
The Swiss maestro, we believe, was more than just a dominant singles player during Switzerland's 3-2 win over upset-minded Kazakhstan. We knew he could take care of his own business on the court, but it was his calmness—both on and off the court—that was key this weekend. Watching the tie and reading the tea leaves, one got the sense that Federer was really careful with Wawrinka during what was a fragile moment for the 2014 Australian Open champion.
Stanislas was clearly struggling to find his confidence, but the constant support that he got from Federer and from Severin Luthi finally reaped its rewards when Wawrinka shook off all the rust and tension to battle past Mikhail Kukushkin in yesterday's fourth rubber. It was a victory that Switzerland had to have, and Wawrinka got it for his team. Without the support—emotional and otherwise—of Federer and the team, we're not so sure Wawrinka gets through this match.
Hero: Kimiko Date-Krumm
The 43-year-old upset top-seeded Flavia Pennetta en route to her first semifinal of 2014 in Monterrey. She rose 15 spots in the rankings to No. 83 for her efforts.
Zero: Nobody
It just wasn't that kind of a weekend!