Day 1 (September 19, 1997)
Karol Kucera, Slovakia, def. Daniel Nestor, Canada, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0)
Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, def. Sébastien Lareau, Canada, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Slovakia lead 2-0
On a pleasant and unseasonably warm day in Montréal, 1750 fans packed the intimate, indoor Pavillon Bell to witness the start of the Canada-Slovakia Davis Cup tie to decide a place in the élite World Group for 1998. The matches are being played on a speedy carpet.
Among the Canadians present were a handful of highly audible Slovak
supporters, brandishing their young nation’s flag and clanging cowbells
throughout the matches. Their support was rewarded, as the Slovakians took
both opening singles matches and with them, a 2-0 lead. Slovakia needs
but one more point to clinch the best-of-five encounter.
- Karol Kucera, Slovakia, def. Daniel Nestor, Canada, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0):
The Karol Kucera for whom Daniel Nestor had prepared was certainly not the one he had to play! Oh, it sure looked like Karol: the same casual, almost aloof on-court demeanour, the same slouchy walk on feet that seem a bit too large for his body. But he didn’t bring the game we expected to see.
Karol Kucera is reputed to have an underwhelming, eminently returnable serve. This Kucera served up fourteen aces, many perfectly placed on the centre stripe. "I wasn’t expecting a lot of aces", marveled the Canadian, "and they were all on the lines, it wasn’t like he overpowered me." Kucera pointed out that he has gotten stronger and fitter over the last year, and has worked on beefing up his serve. "It’s very important, especially on this surface. I was going for aces and hitting my second serves harder."
Karol Kucera is also supposed to be an aggressive player on fast courts, willing to charge the net regularly. This Kucera stayed back almost always, mesmerizing an amazed Nestor with an array of deadly cross-court two-handers, potent forehands down the line, and pinpoint topspin lobs. Kucera was making just about everything. If the Canadian tried to stay back and rally, Kucera’s gliding, efficient strides, intelligent shot selection and superior consistency usually won out. The laconic Slovak noted: "from the backcourt I knew Nestor is not as good as me, and I was returning and passing well. So coming to the net was not necessary."
It was the Karol Kucera Show tonight, and there was little that a sluggish Nestor could do about it. "I don’t think it was me", remarked Nestor, "a lot of it was his play. He played like a top ten, not a top fifty. Maybe I could have played a little better, but I don’t think it would have mattered."
Kucera was only in danger very briefly, in the third set. Nestor staged a rebirth when we were all ready to bury him. Serving at 2-2, 0-40, the lanky Canadian lefty produced his best tennis of the match, serving and volleying his way out of the hole to hold serve, and then breaking the Slovak to go up 4-2. Kucera revealed later that he felt a slight muscle pull in his left leg at this point in the match, and that this was one reason Nestor began to gain the upper hand.
But at 5-3 and serving for the set, Nestor reversed his own momentum with what appeared to be poor judgment. On the first point of the game, Nestor appeared to run down a lob with plenty of time to make a decent lob, but chose instead to attempt a between-the-legs shot that did not come close to clearing the net. No doubt thanking the stars above, Kucera regained the initiative, putting Nestor in difficulty with some impressive backhand returns at the Canadian’s feet. On his third break point opportunity, Kucera converted with yet another splendid cross-court backhand pass.
The players battled on to what we expected would be a tense tie-break,
but Kucera was just teasing us. He won the first point of the breaker with
a somewhat lucky stab backhand return, and did not lose another. At 0-5,
Nestor missed a ridiculous drop shot attempt that was the tennis equivalent
of waving the white flag of surrender. Kucera promptly closed out
the match with yet another down-the-line forehand passing shot, and calmly
savoured a very impressive victory that lasted just under two hours, and
the all-important first point that went to his team.
- Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, def. Sébastien Lareau, Canada, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
In contrast to the mostly one-sided opening match, this was a hard-fought, intense struggle that turned on a few big points, particularly in the first and third set tie-breakers that both went to Dominik Hrbaty.
Someone should perhaps check the validity of Hrbaty’s passport. The 19-year-old rising star is nothing like his phlegmatic teammate Kucera nor his ultra-mellow captain Miroslav Mecir. Young Dominik wears his heart on his sleeve, grimacing at his errors and letting out loud yells and fist-pumps to celebrate his winners. The engaging young man admits he loves the atmosphere of a tense Davis Cup match: "The atmosphere was great, and I love it when the people yell and scream."
With regard to his game, Hrbaty could easily be mistaken for a young Spaniard, as evidenced by Canadian captain Louis Cayer’s pre-match advice to Lareau: "Play him like you play the Spaniards" (some of Lareau’s best career wins have come over Spanish players on hard courts). Dominik hits forehands with loopy Barcelonan topspin most of the time, but is capable of flattening out his shot and accelerating for lethal winners. I was particularly impressed by his fine two-handed backhand, which he leans into beautifully and can be very explosive. Hrbaty’s serve is a potent weapon as well, but his volleying is substandard and he does not attack short balls as aggressively as he could.
In short, Dominik Hrbaty’s meteoric rise to the top 50 is not the work of smoke and mirrors. and I think we will see him continue to climb to the top ten in the next few years.
Sébastien Lareau had to be very sharp to keep pace with the hard-slugging Slovak, and indeed he was, at least for the first three sets. He was serving and volleying effectively, and his potent service returns often left Hrbaty shaking his head in wonder. Hrbaty admitted, "I haven’t seen him play often, but I know how he plays and I think he was playing the match of his life."
Most surprisingly to me, Lareau was able to sustain Hrbaty’s tempo, and rally with him from the baseline. Sébastien usually avoids long rallies, but some of the baseline exchanges were breathtaking to watch given the hard-hitting strokes and the agility and movement of both players. The Canadian captain rendered a heartfelt homage to Lareau after the match: "I’m proud he fought so hard, he was in the 120s playing a player in the top 50, and he gave Hrbaty all he could handle. It’s sad that he couldn’t have won, but he gave a great effort and I’m proud of him. The story of the match was in the tie-breakers."
Ah, the tie-breakers. They came in the first and third sets, and Lareau had chances to win both.
In fact, Lareau probably should have won the first set even before the tie-break. The Québec native broke Hrbaty in game seven with an impressive exhibition of the art of returning serve, but gave the break back in game eight with a double fault on break point. Then, in the nervously-played first set tie-break, Lareau had set point at 6-5 and a makeable forehand winner on his racquet, but pushed it wide. Finally, Hrbaty clinched the set with a sharp overhead winner on his second set point to take the tie break, 9-7.
Lareau looked ready to wilt, and was broken early in the second set to trail 1-3. But, spurred on by the noisy hometown faithful, Lareau mounted a spirited comeback, taking four of the next five games and wrapping up the set in impressive fashion, 6-4. In this set we saw Lareau’s return game at its best, and he punctuated many fine baseline rallies with impressive winners off both sides. When he came forward, Sébastien covered the net beautifully and knocked off volleys in impressive fashion.
The third set saw the players locked on serve until 5-5. In game eleven Hrbaty raised the level of his own return game, forcing Lareau to hit half-volleys he could not convert, and broke the Canadian to serve for the set at 6-5. However, Hrbaty appeared to suffer an attack of nerves, double faulting on break point to bring about another tie-break.
Lareau raced to a 4-1 lead in the third set tie-break, but was unable to hold it. His returns became shaky, and his serves more cautious. Hrbaty sensed the weakness and exploited it by taking the initiative. Now moving close to the baseline to return, Hrbaty capitalized on a weak Lareau first serve on set point, mashing a backhand return winner to take a tie-break that Lareau would surely love to be able to have back.
The heartbreaking loss of the third set appeared to take the steam out of Lareau, who seemed downcast to open the fourth set. At 3-4 the Canadian began to suffer cramps, while Hrbaty gained in confidence and blasted impressive cannon shots past his increasingly immobile opponent. Hrbaty closed out the set and the match, 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, when Lareau sent a tired backhand wide.
While the Slovaks celebrated, Lareau’s cramps seized up badly. He was unable to attend a post-match press conference, as he was being treated by the team’s medical staff.
Saturday preview:
The composition of tomorrow’s doubles teams will be decided at the last minute.
Canada, needing a win in doubles to stay alive, had hoped to count on Grant Connell/Lareau. But the cramps experienced by Lareau make his fitness uncertain. Nestor, on the other hand, played only two hours in his singles loss and should be relatively fresh. Furthermore, during the post-match press conference Nestor was lobbying for a chance to play doubles. "I played with Grant at the US Open and we did pretty well. I know we’re both lefties, and with him I play the deuce court which I’m not accustomed to. But I returned well today, and that’s a good sign. I hope I can play doubles, I’d like to have the chance to redeem myself."
Slovakia’s captain Mecir has doubles worries of his own. Jan Kroslak/Kucera were to be the team, but Kucera suffered a slight muscle pull during the singles match. If Kucera feels a bit lame on Saturday, Hrbaty would be the logical choice to replace him, except for the fact that Dominik is complaining of a slightly sore back. What will Mecir do? He wouldn’t say. So stay tuned!!
Irrespective of the makeup of the teams, Canada will be favoured to
take the doubles, which is Canada’s strong suit. Still, with a 2-0 lead
and both Kucera and Hrbaty showing splendid form in singles, Slovakia looks
well on the way to reaching the Davis Cup World Group for the first time
in the young nation’s four-year history.
On The Line will be on the scene all weekend, filing daily
reports on the Davis Cup action from Montréal.
View preview
View report on the second day of play
View report on the third day of play
