Day 2 (September 20, 1997)
Grant Connell/Daniel Nestor, Canada, def. Dominik Hrbaty/Jan Kroslak, Slovakia, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Slovakia lead 2-1.
Grant Connell said farewell to his playing career on a positive note today, as he partnered fellow Canadian Daniel Nestor in a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty and Jan Kroslak, keeping Canada's hopes alive in this Davis Cup World Group qualifying tie.
The 31-year-old Connell had announced that this would be the final match in an eleven-year career which saw him reach # 1 in the world doubles rankings, and combine with Patrick Galbraith of the USA to win the 1995 World Doubles Championship.
Connell's partner today was supposed to be Sébastien Lareau. However, Canadian captain Louis Cayer elected to give Lareau the day off to recover from cramps suffered during Friday's singles loss to Hrbaty. The Slovakian team was also changed at the last minute: Karol Kucera, who was to team up with Kroslak, was allowed to rest his slightly pulled leg muscle as Slovakian captain Miroslav Mecir replaced him with Hrbaty.
As in Friday's singles matches, the doubles match went according to form. The Canadians, both successful doubles specialists, were expected to have little difficulty against their Slovakian opponents who are ranked outside the top 150 in this specialty.
Early on, the Canadians went after Hrbaty's suspect volley with success, forcing the youthful Slovakian into numerous errors at the net. Hrbaty also had difficulty returning the Canadians' lefty serves, particularly Nestor's.
These problems did not seem to disturb the free-spirited Hrbaty: in fact, he appeared to be having the time of his life, smiling broadly throughout the match and joking with his partner, showing little of the intensity he had displayed in singles the night before.
It was strange and somewhat inappropriate on-court behaviour, and it almost seemed as if Hrbaty was conceding the doubles point to the Canadians, saving his physical and emotional energy for what could be the deciding singles match. "Today was just for fun", said an unconcerned Hrbaty after the match. "We were trying to play our best, but we are singles players mostly. This is the first year I am playing big tournaments in doubles, and the Canadians had much more experience."
Given Hrbaty's off-day, Jan Kroslak had to come up with a strong showing if Slovakia was to make a match of it. But Kroslak too started slowly, especially with some poor serving which cost his side two breaks in the opening set. By the third set Kroslak had picked up the level of his game, but it was too little, too late.
Slovakian captain Mecir seemed unconcerned with the loss. "We did our best. The other players played at a very high level, and we just couldn't match it. This is good experience for our players and will help us in the next ties."
On the Canadian side, Nestor was the man of the match. His lefty serve was working well, and the Slovaks were unable to break it even once. Nestor had no problem playing what, for him, was the unfamiliar deuce court, as his backhand returns were excellent throughout. The Slovaks could simply not beat Connell and Nestor when both moved to the net, as they are big men (6' 2") with long reach and sure volleys.
Despite the one-sided loss, Slovakia is still in the driving seat with a 2-1 lead and the advantage in Sunday's reverse singles.
Bye bye Grant!
After the match, Connell was presented by his teammates with a rocking chair, bath robe and slippers for his retirement years. The well-liked Connell is particularly appreciated and admired by his youthful Davis Cup teammates such as Sébastien Lareau. "Grant has always been a great example for us", noted Lareau. "He's always like a big brother to us when we're on the road, and he's like a second captain with all his singles and doubles experience."
Captain Louis Cayer added: "Grant may be the first Canadian player in history to retire before his prime, because he's playing better than ever right now. He's always been a role model, both on and off the court."
Connell, who now resides in Bermuda, would like to stay in tennis in an as yet undefined capacity. "I have meetings with the Tennis Canada people this week, and we'll discuss how I can contribute to the sport in Canada. Other that, I don't have too many plans", added Grant enigmatically, "at least none that I'm telling you about right now."
Preview of tomorrow's reverse singles:
Lareau-Kucera:
Kucera was devastatingly sharp in his Friday singles romp over Nestor, but Cayer thinks that Lareau should give him more trouble. "It will be a different match. Daniel didn't return badly, but Sébastien has a better return game and should put more pressure on Kucera's serve. Daniel also stayed back a lot on Kucera's serve, but Sébastien will probably come in more. He has the game style to beat Kucera", the Canadian captain concluded bravely. Bold words, but Kucera will be a heavy favourite to put Slovakia ahead 3-1 and clinch the win.
On the medical front, the Canadian physiotherapist said Lareau should be recovered from his cramps by Sunday, while Kucera says "the leg is fine." I saw Kucera practicing with Kroslak after the doubles, and Karol looked quite sprightly, thank you.
Nestor-Hrbaty:
Both Nestor and Cayer were heartened by the difficulty Hrbaty had returning
Nestor's tough lefty serves in today's doubles encounter. Nestor: "It's
a different matchup against Hrbaty because he doesn't return as well as
Kucera. I think I match up better against him."
More bold words. But even if Lareau upsets Kucera in the first reverse
singles and this turns out to be the deciding match, we can be sure that
Hrbaty will have his game face back on and will make things extremely difficult
for the Canadian.
One thing is for sure: On The Line will be there to follow
the action for you!
