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Team Cup is almost a different sport when compared to the rest of tennis. The glory is not for yourself, but for you country. Doubles is thrust into the spotlight, as it is often the crucial match, and results in regular events, do not matter. It is being hosted for the second straight year by Australia, on carpet. There are four real favorites, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Canada. Outside contender are Argentina and France. I will do a brief breakdown of the teams,
UK
Dave and NEA represent the British. Both have long been two of the best players from the up-and-coming generation. Both are poster boys for consistency. NEA’s clay season is the only hiccup on their record, besides that they are sure picks for later rounds. However, besides on Tier I titles, and a Slam semi, neither have truly been able to accomplish eye-catching results. They do have the ability to win however, and are the favorites.
USA
By far the hottest team, but not quite the best team. Even so, more than any other team, carpet matches both of their games like no other. Jbors, who captured the eye of the tennis world by dominating small events, and creating upsets in big ones, is a wild card to watch. Then PSALT, who had a wonderful indoor season. With a Tier I title, another final, then it was capped off with a unlikely, and dazzling run to the YEC final, where he served for the match.
Canada
Last years finalists, yet they are not even close to being the favorites. They have the talent, for sure, but whether or not they can pull of the upsets needed is the biggest question mark surrounding them. Doublea had a breakout season, but was poor indoors. He is more than capable of getting it together; he is the most natural player on tour on fast courts. Stevos blasted his way on to the tour in his rookie season, he was part of an impressive Canadian squad last year, but he has cooled since. After a good start to the season, he was beaten into the background by Jbors. He is not a natural player indoors, but a few good wins is not out of the question.
Australia
The defending champion, yet have got little love by the experts. J-man captured the French, but did little besides that. While Leftys has a surprise Tier I victory in the dawn of the season, then struggled to win any matches at all until the indoor season rolled around. Talent practically radiates off of J-man, but harnessing it is a huge challenge for him. He is obviously capable of multiple big wins, but you can’t say if he will do it or not until the matches happen. Leftys is a tricky player, who is well suited for the quick, low bounce of carpet. Doubles will likely be their Achilles tendon like usual, like last year they will need to count on strong singles play.
France
Newcomer France, has unknown Tennis Fan, and Playboy regular, Sheila. Tennis Fan has got good wins before, Stevos being the biggest. While Sheila has letdown the people who claimed she would get to number 1 after her gigantic upset of Child, single handily ending Child reign of dominance, she is capable of good tennis. Some good news though, Sheila’s new tennis outfit comes equipped with bunny ears.
Argentina
Together Benchwarmer and Agassi promise to have the most potent doubles team present. Their singles is where they will need to improve. Benchwarmer has showed flashes of great play, but not quite “Beating top 10 players” kinda play quite yet. Agassi has been a force in singles the past two years, but players have improved, he hasn’t as much however.
Ok, on to interviews. I will put players from the same nation together, in the same order as above,
Q. Even though this is on carpet, the UK is the odds-makers favorite for the title. Why is that, since it has never even been the runner-up?
Dave. I think we are one of the favorites because we have been consistently at the top of our generation for most of our careers. I think we are both motivated to do well at this tournament after a couple of tight losses in recent years. We are a very strong team, with good singles and doubles records.
Q. The United Kingdom has already said they will choose clay if they win it this year, they seem very confident they will dominate one clay is chosen. Why the confidence? The USA has a French Open finalist, Australia has a French Open champion, and so are they getting ahead of themselves?
Dave I would count us as the overwhelming favorites if it were at home on clay. We are both very comfortable on the surface and have performed well on it in the past. Yes, there are other people who have done a lot on clay but both of us are good on it and capable of winning on it. Also, the British crowd would give me a lot of support and love to see me win my matches if it was at home, and I suppose they would want NEA to pick up some points for the team as well.
Q. Much ado has been made over the UK's so called "lack of doubles talent", do you think it is blown out if proportion?
NEA. I didn't know any discussion had been made, I must admit this is fresh news to me. Since when? Dav and I have a great doubles team, though that could, of course, not be the case this year due to the increasing animosity between the two of us. We have been working hard to end that though, and I think we just about have
Q. The US seems very sure that they will win. Are they counting their chickens before they hatch, or are they really the favorites?
NEA. They are the favorites I think, but Jbors is no problem for me and I have something of a 5-2 record against PSALT. Not sure how Dav will handle them, but if I bring my game then we will at least win two rubbers...
Q. Both yourself and your partner have expressed confidence that you will win the title. Why? Are you getting ahead of yourself?
Jbors. I don't believe we are at all. We have both been playing incredible this year, so I think it is fair to so that we have a good chance to win it all.
Q. You are part of some of the most interesting rivalries in tennis. Stevos who is part of the Canadian team, and NEA for the UK. Ironically enough, PSALT has words with the same players; his rivalry with NEA is one of the oldest in tour. Will the ties between the US and those nations have extra meaning, or will they be dropped in favor of playing for your country?
Jbors. The rivalries just make the Team Cup that much more intense. Not only will we be trying to beat the Canadian and UK teams for the pride of our country, but it will also be trying to beat them for our own pride.
Q: You are now number three in the world, and jbors47 is currently one of the fast-rising players on tour. Due to this, many are picking the USA as the favorite this time around. How do you feel about this, and do you think you are the definite favorites here at the Team Cup?
PSALT. We are the favorites. Not to brag, that isn’t my style, but we are the hottest players on tour.
Q: Much has been said about the jbors47-stevos14 rivalry. When USA does meet with Canada, do you feel that it will play out negatively or positively for your team? Do you consider them (stevos14 and x.doublea) as a threat at all? Who do you consider your main competition here at the Team Cup?
PSALT. I actually think that will play out well for us. Jbors is so good about getting into Stevos’ head. Stevos’ will get rattled. I worry about Doublea however; he is capable of beating us if we aren’t at out best.
I see the UK as the biggest threat; they are a good team, if overrated.
Q. More than any other team, the Canadian Team the most "contrast" in playing styles. Stevos who prefers to stay back and rally, and is atrocious at net. Then there is you, very solid at net, but with suspect movement. Does this contrast, help you, or hurt you?
Doublea. For sure, I think the contrast helps us a lot. First, in the singles, it gives our opponents two extremely distinct styles to cope with; one of power and grit and the other with finesse and guile. In the doubles, perhaps Stevos’s weaker net play is a weakness, but he makes up for it with his great returns. And he has terrific movement as well. I personally think my movement is rather underrated. I'm not the fastest, but I make up for it with good court positioning and anticipation. I think we are a team to be feared.
Q. Even as the defending finalists, Canada hasn't got that much attention. Neither of you were outstanding on carpet this season, and don't seem to be one of the favorites.
Doublea. Well, theoretically speaking, carpet should match with me perfectly. It does, but I do have some problems in transitioning from one surface to another, and that was a factor in my carpet season. I feel I'm now more comfortable, and I know I will be able to challenge the others. The carpet really favors the power of Stevos too. Yes, he will have to make a few adjustments, but I think he too can be a force on carpet. Canada, definitely, should not be overlooked.
Q. Carpet is the surface that was chosen; you are seen as more of a defensive player. How do you think you will fare on this surface?
Stevos. Yes, my game is pretty defensive, but I think I can do well on all surfaces. At my final event of the year, the Canadian one, I beat Dave and Phobe, two top ten players who had been playing relatively well, so I am really confident, especially because my great friend and teammate x.doublea has a great game for this surface. Any surface chosen would be good for us so if it's carpet, so be it!
Q. I will now dub it "The Border War", the upcoming tie between the USA and Canada. You have exchanged words with both players on the American team, how will that tie play out? Do you expect more words between yourself and PSALT and Jbors?
Stevos. People love to make little conflicts, especially when countries are involved. However, it goes deeper than just patriotism on this one, as yes, as you mentioned, I have exchanged quite a few words with both of these players.
The tennis world should definitely expect some childish trash-talk from Jbors, and some witty, yet uncalled for, attacks from PSALT. It will get interesting, I don't really want to get into too many conflicts because its not really my teammates style, but if a fights a-brewin', then I'm all in.
Q. Obviously, Australia is the defending champion, yet doesn't seem to be the favorite. What do you think? Both Leftys and yourself fell in the rankings, but do you think you two are being written off too soon?
J-man. What up P! Nice to see you again.
What up J-man! Someone needs to learn to speak English....
It's going to be tough for us again this year. America is going to red Hot with Jbors and PSALT. But you shouldn't count us out to quickly. We both come to together and make a good team. Lefty's is a great partner
Q. Who in your opinion will win this year?
J-man. I don't like picking who will win. But I will tell you the major contenders. The teams to watch for in my opinion are going to be, USA, England, and The Aussies!!
Q. You are normally "the class" of the Team Cup players. Your record against members from your generation is well known. Does Team Cup play to your strengths?
Leftys. Hm, I’m not sure why I play usually very against my fellow members and especially in this event. Although I may not be the strongest gamewise, I try to bring my very best to the court against the players of my generation. Team Cup is probably my favorite event period, regardless of ranking points or sponsorships. It's very relaxed and fun, although competitive.
Q. While you had a good indoor season, J-man did not. Do you expect to be the hero, or do you think J-man can hold his own?
Leftys. I think J-man will do fine. When he is ON, it's very difficult for anybody to beat him. It depends on his mental state of mind, but as this event is not on the tour and it's for leisure and has no effect on ranking points whatsoever, he should be going out swinging, and he is hard to beat in that state. Now even if I were the "hero", it still wouldn't be very effective, as one person can't win a team event alone.
Q. You will team with newbie Tennis Fan, will his inexperience hurt France's chances?
Sheila:
Well I'm not really from France anyway. They just asked me because Bizet couldn't play. Everybody's inexperienced at one point and this competition should give him some good playing time.
Q. Do you really think France can cause, quite possibly, the biggest upset in Team Cup history, and claim this title?
Sheila. Not really, but we'll try! I think we can cause some upsets!
Q. You are the 'newbie' for Team Cup. What is the atmosphere like? You have been to the Players Party, and the draw making event, how much different is this from the regular tour?
Tennis Fan. Wow! The atmosphere is fantastic! Everyone is so friendly and is having fun. This is so different that any other event’s opening party. The results have no effect on individual rankings so the players are more relaxed. With all that said though there is still a lot of pride and I am sure it will be competitive. The USA team is the big favorites with the hottest players right now but more than likely their arrogance will be their downfall. Ok PSALT has every right to be cocky… he is the no 3 player in the world and has had a fantastic season… but Jbors47? Come on! Where was he at the YEC?
Anyhow, I am having a good time and enjoying myself with my new friends on FTL. Sheila is a fantastic person and it has been fun training together the last few days. She seems to be enjoying herself at the Players Party and getting to know the other young players, since this is her first Team Cup too.
Q. Sheila and yourself will represent France, what was your reasoning for choosing Sheila as your partner?
Tennis Fan. Well, it is long story. France is one of my favorite places in the world. I spent a lot of time this past season playing in French events and also took 2 long breaks there traveling around the country, form the south Mediterranean beaches to Normandy and the Wine country. So I wanted to team up with a French player for Team Cup and I had requested to team up with Bizet, the best player out of France. FTL Commissioner Percy did not approve my application. I could not team up any with anyone in the Top-20.
Sheila heard about it from her fellow countryman Bizet and approached me. How could I refuse teaming up with the hottest player on the tour? Especially after she told me that she noticed me at the Baghdatis Challenge in Cyprus earlier in the year. She first noticed me when I beat Stevos14 at the QF as her QF was following mine. I remember we had met each other in Cyprus and actually had lunch together one day, but nothing to write home about.
Anyhow, I gladly accepted her invitation and I am so happy she called me. We have been together for a few days now and I have gotten to know her better. She is such an incredible personality, in addition to being extremely beautiful (isn't she lovely? ). Also I did not realize how impressed she was that I knew so much about her country and that I actually speak French (ok broken and with an accent but who cares?) Most Americans can’t stand the French and they show it. She says that I made her realize that not all of us Americans are xenophobiacs and I helped her improve her opinion of my country and its people.
Q. Since your last season's Team Cup, your volleys have improved by a large margin. Argentina will likely have one of the best, if not the best doubles team in the event. Agree?
Benchwarmer. Well, My volleys did go up by a lot. But that still doesn’t lock it up for us, Agassi is an experienced player that has had pretty good success, but obviously me and my lone title are not the greatest factor one would want in an event such as this, just because I am very unstable emotionally. But overall, we do have a pretty good doubles team and the two of us will definitely be looking for those singles wins to come a long as well.
Q. You are seen as huge underdogs, do you think your really have a chance for the title?
Benchwarmer. You are right, we are probably one of the most overlooked teams in this team cup, if not the most overlooked, like i said before we have Agassi who is an incredible player, but doesn't get enough credit for getting some very good wins. but i can't say the same about my self.
I think we will be the "dark horses" in this one, everyone will count us out. I guess it depends on how we play when the time comes. Hope this wasn't too boring
