Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/117483
DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS THE JOURNEY begins A straightforward path for some, a long arduous road for others as Davis Cup by BNP Paribas saw its reigning champions put in the hours during a record-breaking route to the quarterfinals. by Jamie Renton A player���s commitment is rarely questioned when competing in Davis Cup, such is the beauty of a competition that so often allows players to find another gear while wearing their country colours, but once in a while comes a performance so stubbornly determined it throws even the record books out of the window. Enter Stanislas Wawrinka, Marco Chiudinelli, Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol, all well-accustomed to going the distance on a singles court but who now know what it is to run on fumes in the doubles format after contesting the longest Davis Cup doubles rubber in history. For Switzerland, the epic seven-hour-one minute battle that transpired in the middle rubber in Geneva made for a galling defeat. For Czech Republic, winning the second longest recorded match of all time earned a point that would ultimately play a pivotal part in a 3-2 victory for Jaroslav Navratil���s men. ���I have never played tennis [for] that long,��� admitted Berdych. ���It���s something really different and I like that I have a new experience.��� One half of the Czech Republic���s most successful doubles pairing, Berdych had to do without Radek Stepanek for the first time in five ties after Milos Raonic wins the fourth rubber to earn Canada its first World Group victory the hero of the 2012 final skipped the contest with a back injury. Severin Luthi���s team knew its best chance of upsetting the reigning champions could rest on the outcome of the third rubber and for 421 minutes Wawrinka and Chiudinelli kept hopes of a positive outcome alive, saving a remarkable 12 match points. On the 13th, their resistance finally caved, in the cruellest fashion too, with a Chiudinelli double fault. For all the drama, intrigue and eventual disappointment, was it at least a small consolation that Wawrinka and Chiudinelli had written their names into the history books with their part in the epic contest? ���[If it is] it���s really, really small,��� said a downbeat Wawrinka, whose defeat to Berdych in the fourth singles rubber ended any hope of Switzerland reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004. At the other end of the scale, Frank Dancevic experienced highs only the Davis Cup can deliver after his part in helping Canada stun five-time champions Spain in Vancouver. Dancevic gave the hosts a surprise 2-0 lead at the end of the first day after recording a huge 61 62 62 upset over world No. 35 Marcel Granollers, ranked 100 places above him. ���This is one of the greatest moments of my career,��� declared the 28-year-old Niagara Falls native. ���I was expecting to play well but I wasn���t expecting to play the way I did. I was flawless out there.��� Already on a nation-best ranking of No. 12 going into the tie, Canada marched on to its first-ever World Group win