As the last major event in Men’s Tennis in 2016 approaches, Ubitennis caught up with two Argentina fans who gave their thoughts on their country’s history in the competition and their chances in the Davis Cup final against Croatia this weekend.
Andres and Gabriel Lukomski are a father and son duo who have lived through the successes, trials and tribulations that the Argentina Davis Cup team has encountered over the last twenty years.
I spoke to Andres first, who recalled the famous final that Argentina played against the United States in 1981. “It was such a hard final, the finest doubles team of all time in McEnroe/Fleming, and our boys Jose Luis Clerc and Guillermo Vilas gave them the match of their lives. That was the match that decided it for me.”
Andres still recalls with pride the tennis on display over the course of that tie. “Clerc defeated Roscoe Tanner, who had a beautiful, powerful serve, and in straight sets too.” Clerc also played the fourth match, losing in another thriller to McEnroe in the match that officially sealed the tie.
We then moved on to discuss the next three final appearances for Argentina, against Russia in 2006, and Spain in 2008 and 2011. “We relied far too heavily on David (Nalbandian)” Andres said. “It was on that carpet in Russia which of course did not favour Juan Ignacio Chela or Jose Acasuso who live on the clay. The Russians with Nikolay Davydenko and Marat Safin had the strength in their number 1 and 2 players that we simply did not have for the surface, though Acasuso still managed to take a set from Safin.”
Gabriel then took me through the 2006 Final defeat to Spain, to date the only Davis Cup final that Argentina have played on home soil, in Mar Del Plata. “We had to try and predict the team” he said. “Given Nadal’s emergence on the clay we decided to forgo the traditional strength of many Argentinians, which is the clay, as we expected him to play.” The final was instead played on hard courts, though the gamble failed to pay off as Nadal did not play with Spain instead fielding Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez for the singles.
Andres made sure to remind me of one more fact he felt was pertinent to the proceedings. “Poor Delpo (Del Potro) had played in the Masters Cup (now the ATP World Tour Finals) and had to travel all the way from Shanghai (where it was held at the time), to Mar Del Plata. He lost to Feliciano Lopez, a player he would normally beat so I think the travel played a big part.”
Gabriel then summed up the final. ” I think of all the appearances in the finals for Argentina so far it was perhaps our biggest chance. If we had stuck to clay we could have beaten Feliciano Lopez for sure and it maybe could have been a different story.”
Both father and son talked little of the 2011 defeat, which had seen a Spain team anchored by Nadal win 3-1 in Seville. Andres did mention one thing “Delpo started incredibly in that match with Nadal he won the first set 6-1 you know.”
Moving to this year’s clash Andres, who has lived through each agonising defeat so far, was fatalistic about his country’s chances. “I do not think this will be our year” he said. He also noticed a coincidence linking the two finalists. “Croatia is the country of our captain, Daniel Orsanic’s father, it will be a very interesting time for him.”
Gabriel was much more optimistic about the final. “Delpo can definitely beat Cilic and Karlovic. I feel we will lose the doubles as Ante Pavic and Ivan Dodig are regular doubles players. Either Leo Mayer or Federico Delbonis will then beat Karlovic, so we will win 3-2, it is finally our year!” Gabriel also noted a key factor that he felt could tip the balance in the favour of Argentina. “Our fans are undoubtedly the most vociferous, they really create a strong atmosphere for our players even if they are home or away, and Delpo and the team must take heart from that”.
Andres’ final comments regarded Argentina’s path to the final. “We have played all of our ties away from home this year. In Poland, in Italy, We beat Murray and the British in Glasgow, and now we are away again in the final with Croatia. If we win then we need not ever play again at home” he joked before complimenting his country’s home stadium. “We have a beautiful stadium that was built in Argentina after I left, but I have seen the atmosphere and it is incredible.”
- My thanks go to Andres and Gabriel for speaking ahead of the Davis Cup final.
