2011 Davis Cup Semi Finals

[Johnny Karp]

The tennis world focuses on the Davis Cup this week as the best nations in the game face each other on the semi finals of the prestigious tournament. Here are the odds from Intertops:

Serbia v Argentinia
 Serbia   -300
 Argentinia   +225

Spain v France
 Spain   -525
 France   +360

The matches will start on Friday, until then let's see which are the main players for each team.

Serbia: Novak Djokovic (ATP ranking 1st), Janko Tipsarevic (13), Victor Troicki (16)
Argentina: Juan Martin Del Potro (17), Juan Ignacio Chela (23), Juan Monaco (27)
Spain: Rafael Nadal (2), David Ferrer (5), Fernando Verdasco (22)
France: Gael Monfils (7), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10), Gilles Simon (11)

The pairings will be decided shortly as there will be two singles games on Friday followed by the doubles game on Saturday and the final two single games on Sunday. The team who wins three of the five matches advances to the Davis Cup final.

[Johnny Karp]

The first two singles matches of the Davis Cup semi finals will be played today, here are the odds from Intertops:

Spain vs France

Rafael Nadal v Richard Gasquet
 Rafael Nadal   -1800
 Richard Gasquet   +850

David Ferrer v Gilles Simon
 David Ferrer   -450
 Gilles Simon   +320

Serbia vs Argentina

Novak Djokovic v David Nalbandian
 Novak Djokovic   -2000
 David Nalbandian   +900

Janko Tipsarevic v Juan Martin Del Potro
 Janko Tipsarevic   +140
 Juan Martin Del Potro   -180

Good luck!

[Johnny Karp]

There were no surprises in Spain as the home side took a solid 2-0 advantage over France but things were a lot more complicated in Serbia where Novak Djokovic was replaced at the last minute by Victor Troicki. The move wasn't good for the home players as Argentina clinched both singles games on Friday and can advance to the final with just one more win. Novak Djokovic pulled out of his scheduled match with Nalbandian due to lower back and rib pain and that might mean that Serbia will not be able to defend the Davis Cup title that they have won last year.

Spain vs France 2-0

Rafael Nadal def Richard Gasquet 63 60 61
David Ferrer v Gilles Simon 61 64 61

Serbia vs Argentina 0-2

David Nalbandian def Victor Troicki 64 46 62 63
Juan Martin Del Potro def Janko Tipsarevic 75 63 64

There are no odds available for the doubles games yet but I will check again later.

[blueday]

What a shame for Novak Djokovic.  I wonder if he has been training too hard.

blue

[Johnny Karp]

What a shame for Novak Djokovic.  I wonder if he has been training too hard.

blue

It is a shame indeed. I don't think that his training is to blame, he has a whole army of specialists taking care of his schedule, I think that he has just played way too many games this season at very high intensity. He's just human after all, his body couldn't take all that stress.

[Johnny Karp]

The Davis Cup semi finals are not over yet and that is because both France and Serbia managed to pull one back by winning the doubles matches yesterday! For some reason there were no odds available anywhere for the doubles matches...

Spain vs France 2-1

Serbia vs Argentina 1-2

However, Spain and Argentina need just one more win to reach the final. The good news for Serbia is that Novak Djokovic will play today! Here are the odds from Intertops:

Spain vs France

David Ferrer v Richard Gasquet
 David Ferrer   -556
 Richard Gasquet   +375

Rafael Nadal vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
no odds available

Serbia vs Argentina

Novak Djokovic v Juan Martin Del Potro
 Novak Djokovic   -625
 Juan Martin Del Potro   +400

Janko Tipsarevic v David Nalbandian
 Janko Tipsarevic   +105
 David Nalbandian   -143

Good luck!

[Johnny Karp]

Argentina beat Serbia and that was because... an injury to Djokovic... The US Open winner tried to help his team past Argentina but in the end he had to retire in the second set against Del Potro so it's Argentina who advance to the final. Here's what Djokovic said after the game:

"I feel very disappointed to end the tie in this way, I tried although I was only 60 percent fit and I got into the match knowing there was a risk of aggravating the injury which I first felt at the U.S. Open. We knew my condition was not good but we believed that even so I would have a better chance against Del Potro than my team mate Viktor Troicki would, at the end of the day it was my decision and it backfired. I am not saying I would have won if I had been 100 percent fit because Del Potro played at a very high level today and never in my professional career did I struggle with my return of serve as I did today. The important thing now is to determine the extent of my injury and how long it will take me to recover, I was able to battle through the pain in the U.S. Open final but not today. "

In the other semi final Nadal beat Tsonga in straight sets so the final will be Argentina vs Spain.