Another Davis Cup
series passed
, the first in the history of light blue and white tennis in Rosario.
A weekend passed in which the
Argentine team
captained by
Guillermo Coria
experienced extreme emotions.
There was joy, anger and suffering.
There were moments that forced us to play with the heart more than with the racket, to swallow anger and raise our heads, to draw strength from anywhere when things didn't work out.
And that moment of ecstasy, relief and happiness, when
Sebastián Báez
sealed the victory in a series against
Kazakhstan
that became too complicated and ruled that Argentina will once again play the Finals of the most important country competition.
With the pulses now normalized, after that closing for the heart attack in the tie break of the last set of the last point, it is worth analyzing what it left, beyond the result, that clash against an opponent who on paper was very inferior, but who demonstrated in the court how accurate that phrase is that says
"In Davis, logic is useless and the rankings are liars"
.
The weekend party confirmed that Argentine fans are always there, especially when playing at home.
It does not matter if the event is at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis, the usual home of the national team (this time not available due to preparing for the Argentina Open, which will be played next week) or in a smaller stadium in the interior, such as the Rosario Jockey Club.
When Davis calls, people respond.
And it makes itself felt so much that sometimes - like on this occasion - it ends up becoming an extra player.
"The people were firm on Saturday with 45 degrees of wind chill and on Sunday they stayed until the last point. For me it was special and emotional again, because this is my home. If there were stands for 10,000 or 15,000 people, I think that It would have been full anyway. It's nice to see Davis in the interior of the country. I hope it happens again," Coria commented.
The relief on Sebastián Báez's face.
Photo: Juan José García.
"The public played a key role in our match. When we were down a set and a break, feeling the support pushed us to continue fighting," acknowledged Andrés Molteni.
His doubles partner, Máximo González, agreed: "There are always moments in games when you tend to go down, but the fans lift you up. It's a bonus to have people cheering you on."
In sports, when you review what happened in Rosario, the first feeling is that the three young Argentine singles players
still find it quite difficult to handle the extra pressure
that is generated (as they themselves explained, without using it as an excuse to justify a poor performance ) when they put on the Argentine jersey and go out to play Davis.
Neither
Francisco Cerúndolo
, 22nd in the world, nor
Tomás Etcheverry
, 28th, nor
Báez
himself , 25th, had a very good time in their matches.
The first two, especially, seemed to suffer from them.
The Buenos Aires man - who managed to win the first singles on Saturday but failed in the second point on Sunday - was seen arguing with himself, reproaching himself for mistakes and even shrugging his shoulders as if to show that he could not find a way to direct the matches.
The player from La Plata - who lost the only one he played, on the first day - acknowledged that he did not feel "comfortable on the court at any time" and that he had not been "neither precise nor aggressive" when opportunities were presented to him.
And they faced two rivals who, without disrespect, were inferior:
Timofey Skatov
(278th) and
Dmitry Popko
(338th).
The relief of the Argentine team after the victory.
Photo: Juan José García.
Báez, who played the last point, physically fresh and with no margin for error,
walked along the ledge
against Popko who had just played singles on a sweltering Saturday and doubles earlier on Sunday.
The Kazakh, almost without legs at the end, reached 5-4 for the match in the third set and even
had two match points
in the tie break of the fifth, before Sebas managed to close the duel with just enough.
Why did he suffer so much?
Why was Argentina on the verge of a defeat that would have been
a very hard blow
when it had a team with three top 30 singles players, young and talented and who are experiencing a huge moment in their individual careers?
Coria himself slipped it in a conference: "We must not forget that they are playing their first series in Davis."
"It was logical that the boys went out on the field
tense
and that the rivals were looser. We have the responsibility of being favorites at home; they have nothing to lose. Fran, Tommy and Sebita were prepared, but they are not easy games for They have to take responsibility and go out and play. And we have to continue accompanying and supporting them," the captain analyzed.
Cerúndolo, 25 years old, played his fifth series (record 3-3).
He debuted in the 2022 group stage in Bologna.
He won his first match in last year's Qualifiers match against Finland in Espoo and opened the match against Lithuania in the BALTC World Group playoffs with victory.
Etcheverry, 24, had only his second game.
He had won the fourth point against the Lithuanians in September, with the series already defined.
Báez, 23, has already played six series (two wins and three losses).
Before Rosario, he had played in the 2022 Qualifiers and group stage, and last year's playoffs.
Guillermo Coria supporting Fran Cerúndolo.
Photo: Juan José García.
"Davis is not easy. Playing in Argentina is not easy. You go out on the field and you know that you are not playing for yourself alone, but for the team and for the country. Then you may forget how you were playing and you enter with nerves or tension," commented the Buenos Aires man.
The three seem to lack
a little more experience
in this competition to be able to leave their nerves in the locker room or to learn to transform the pressure into something positive, that does not cloud their heads, but rather pushes them forward and does not make them suffer. both on the field.
At times Báez found a way to do it in his game, although, it is true, it cost him.
Máximo Gonzáles
and
Andrés Molteni
, with all their history, also felt the pressure of playing Davis at home.
This veteran duo, established in the circuit and 13th in the ranking of that specialty, was complicated in the first set by a couple formed at the last minute with a top 50 doubles player and a singles player outside the top 300.
But they carried out a very tough first set "with more heart than tennis" (they were able to turn the tension into energy)
and won a key match
.
And they confirmed that doubles - a point that for many years was a headache for Argentines - is no longer a weakness.
Andrés Molteni and Machi González also had to fight to win.
Photo: STRINGER / AFP.
On the balance, in Rosario
more was suffered than enjoyed
.
That crazy final celebration did not make us forget that Argentina was several times one point away from defeat and that, although there is plenty of talent, commitment to the shirt and desire and will to work, there
is still a lot of room for improvement
if they want to fight again. for a Salad Bowl.
Coria recognized it.
But she also stated that the series against Kazakhstan left her something very positive:
the certainty that there is a team for the future
.
"What happened this weekend continues to strengthen us as a team and as a group. I am happy and proud of the behavior that the boys had from the first point to the last. In the critical moments, of great tension, when things did not go well well and the games were slipping away, they were firm, they kept fighting. With an admirable respect and attitude," analyzed the captain.
And he closed: "They are responsible for this joy. They won a tremendous series.
They were two days and five intense and long points
. But they were worth it. My aspiration is to form a team that wins the Davis Cup again and we are on our way to that . I am convinced".