Monday 11 July 2011

The Davis Cup Effect


Neutral Omes:

This year is Novak Djokovic’s year; there’s no question about that. Naturally with the emergence of a tennis monster like himself, there will be a plethora of theories surrounding who or what was responsible for its creation. Was it the cutting out of gluten? Marian Vajda stepping up? The fruits of labour finally paying off? Of course in however big or small a way these things all played their parts, but the monster himself attested that it was mostly due to his part in Serbia’s Davis Cup win last year. There’s no doubt that a small nation like Serbia, who’s been recovering from a tumultuous past, loves and needs their heroes (c.f. Novak Djokovic’s Serbian welcome after Wimbledon). And in the tennis world – they’ve found themselves with heroes-a-plenty. The Davis Cup is big for Serbia and therefore big for Djokovic. The win helped him to let go of his fear, which evidently was the only thing holding him back from being at the top of men’s tennis.

My theory is that Novak Djokovic paved the way for other top (but not quite at the top at the moment) players who are looking for inspiration in their careers. Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all hadn’t competed for their countries since 2009. Call me a conspiracy theorist (if there is such a thing) but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they’re all playing now (post Djokovic 2.0).

And how has their quest for stimulation paid off? Well it definitely sparked something in Andy Murray who was in floods of happy tears after an emotional winning weekend in his hometown. Roger Federer has to be pleased that he’s lead Switzerland back into the World Group – his absence proves costly. That said we’ll keep an eye on their American seasons. Let’s hope for Andy Roddick that there are no adverse effects.

(Pic: be0grad.com)

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