ARTICLE Could it be Dutch Delight in Mallorca?
Spain can’t fail to feel confident as their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal at home to the Netherlands approaches. In a match that will be played on clay in Mallorca, April 9-11, Spain boast a team filled with the reigning Roland Garros champion (Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 1998 Roland Garros winner (Carlos Moya), perhaps the most exciting prospect in the game and the last person to defeat Roger Federer (Rafael Nadal), and a solid, talented performer in Tommy Robredo.
Yet despite the formidable reputations and records of their opponents, the Netherlands, and Raemon Sluiter in particular, still have reason to feel confident.
The last time the two nations met, in Eindhoven in 2001, the Netherlands were triumphant, and Sluiter, on his debut, defeated Ferrero in the opening rubber.
It seemed as though Sluiter had been born to play on the Davis Cup stage.
“On my debut against Spain I played a great match,” he remembers. “The nice thing was that I also won that match against Ferrero, but even if I had lost, it was still a good match and I was able to play my best tennis. I think that is what it’s all about. The pressure is big, and different in Davis Cup, but somehow I liked that pressure. It brought out my best tennis.”
His team-mate Sjeng Schalken began describing Sluiter as a ‘Davis Cup specialist’ after his countryman’s 67(5) 76(7) 36 76(3) 64 victory over Ferrero.
[...]
>> full article
Basically talking more about Sluiter and how despite seeming like the underdogs the Dutch are still a threat. It's a bit of a blow to the confidence hearing that Sluiter has defeated JC in Davis Cup before *worried* Anyway, all the luck to the Spanish Armada!! ^^
Spain can’t fail to feel confident as their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal at home to the Netherlands approaches. In a match that will be played on clay in Mallorca, April 9-11, Spain boast a team filled with the reigning Roland Garros champion (Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 1998 Roland Garros winner (Carlos Moya), perhaps the most exciting prospect in the game and the last person to defeat Roger Federer (Rafael Nadal), and a solid, talented performer in Tommy Robredo.
Yet despite the formidable reputations and records of their opponents, the Netherlands, and Raemon Sluiter in particular, still have reason to feel confident.
The last time the two nations met, in Eindhoven in 2001, the Netherlands were triumphant, and Sluiter, on his debut, defeated Ferrero in the opening rubber.
It seemed as though Sluiter had been born to play on the Davis Cup stage.
“On my debut against Spain I played a great match,” he remembers. “The nice thing was that I also won that match against Ferrero, but even if I had lost, it was still a good match and I was able to play my best tennis. I think that is what it’s all about. The pressure is big, and different in Davis Cup, but somehow I liked that pressure. It brought out my best tennis.”
His team-mate Sjeng Schalken began describing Sluiter as a ‘Davis Cup specialist’ after his countryman’s 67(5) 76(7) 36 76(3) 64 victory over Ferrero.
[...]
>> full article
Basically talking more about Sluiter and how despite seeming like the underdogs the Dutch are still a threat. It's a bit of a blow to the confidence hearing that Sluiter has defeated JC in Davis Cup before *worried* Anyway, all the luck to the Spanish Armada!! ^^
