The future of the Argentine team after the defeat in the Davis Cup: why Mago Coria will continue as captain

Argentina ended with defeat against Finland his excursion to the cold city of Espoo, for the Davis Cup Playoffs qualifying for the group stage in September. And there is nothing to reproach. He traveled with what the captain had available and, what was available, was the replacement that Argentine tennis is going through, a replacement that put two rookie players on the court in Davis cup, both over 27 years old, because before they didn’t have that possibility, either because of their ranking or because of the players ahead of them.

The captain of the Argentine team, Guillermo Coria, he had been in permanent contact with all the players who had a chance of being called up. Both with those who wanted to go and with whom he did not want to be quoted. When the time came to say yes, the list began to shorten. Whether due to injury (Tommy Etcheverry), or due to low confidence (he tried to preserve Sebastián Báez), by his own decision (Diego Schwartzman) or for personal reasons (Horacio Zeballos and Federico Coria), five players were ruled out to play this series. With these losses and without an ace up his sleeve (a Nalbandian, a Del Potro or even a Coria himself), the Magician put the best of Argentine tennis on the court. And to top it off, the team leader Francisco Cerúndolo was injured due to an overload in the right hamstring that he had been carrying since the end of the match with Otto Virtanen, which gave Argentina the only point.

“It’s already lost, now we just have to talk to each other and decide what we want, what are the priorities and objectives, and with that information put together the best possible team in the future,” said the Argentine captain.

Pedro Cachín, who just in the middle of last year was able to get into the top 100 in the world, and Facundo Bagnis, a neat and hard worker who has his best results on clay, they played their first Davis Cup match in an adverse context, on a surface that is not so comfortable or familiar to them, but each presentation was beyond their possibilities. In addition, they did it in conditions that ended up favoring the local team, because both had to face Finland’s No. 1, Emil Ruusuvuori, an even but disconcerting player, who had only lost 1 of the 8 times in which he represented his country playing at home. And that only loss was last year against Belgian David Goffin.

The Argentine players knew very well that they were going for a company that was difficult, it already was in times of the Legion, even more so at this time. But the leadership and the coaching staff of Argentina were aware that something more than a result was at stake, in this match in which the current possibilities of local tennis were exposed in the context of world tennis. After a beginning of the century plagued with successes that had nothing to do with the history of Argentine tennis, added to the subsequent trail and the victory in the Davis Cup in 2016, The Argentine tennis team enters this third decade of the 21st century with a change in progress and without great figures in sight. at least in the short term.

That is why, both in Bologna and in Finland, Mago Coria played what he could count on and, perhaps, not the best he had or wanted. Those circumstances forced him to make it grow suddenly. Francisco Cerundolo, a tennis player who feels he represents Argentina: “As long as I can, I will attend each call, playing Davis Cup is the best. Everything is for the light blue and white ”, he told infobae. It is that, Diego Schwartzman self-excluded from the last two matches of the group stage in Bologna 2022, the strategic possibilities of the coaching staff were broken and Francisco had to take charge of the team as No. 1, making his debut in the Davis Cup against Jannick Sinner (ITA). , eleventh player in the ATP ranking at the time. He did not avoid sacrifice or responsibility and traveled to Finland to give Argentina the only point, although it was difficult for him to be sidelined due to injury.

On the doubles side, although the performance of both Machi González and like that of Andres Molteni He was very strong and with the possibility of reaching the goal, the presence of Horacio Zeballos was missed, who perhaps could have tipped the balance for the Argentine side.

The albiceleste couple played almost the entire match without first serve and the difference in their favor was noticeable every time that serve put the point at stake. However, they pushed the local duo Harri Heliovaara and Emil Ruusuvuori to the limit, undoubtedly Finland’s trump card. “He played like a Top 15 player,” Coria said, referring to ATP No. 43.

This defeat not only means the uncomfortable and expectant place of what the current place of Argentine tennis belongs to, but also that of obtaining higher income for the AAT, which allows it to increase the number of local tournaments and generate or sustain programs of development. Despite these possibilities that it generates for national tennis, there are some sectors or people who look at this defeat with happiness, thinking about their own political aspirations. or that of one of their close affections, who have provided them with certain privileges. Because there is currently no opposition to the current leadership, only some individuals who, not out of discontent, but out of ambition, seek to reposition themselves in the political spectrum of tennis.

However, despite the defeat, Argentina looks to the future and not to the precipice, because it has many young players that are already a reality and other latent projections for the coming years. That is why Guillermo Coria and the leadership of the Argentine Tennis Association do not think of modifying the project and the Magician will give continuity to his captaincy. “Now we have to look to the future and that future is next Thursday, when the September Playoffs are drawn. The only thing I hope is that we have better luck with the rival that touches us or that we can play at home”, said Coria.

It is not yet defined what is going to happen or how the 2024 edition of the Davis Cup is going to be played, nor is there any definition and it is not known who are going to decide on it, but the players are already claiming a place in the discussion table.

The only certainty is that each series will continue to consist of five points, that the matches will be played to the best of three sets (all with tie breaks) and, surely, in two consecutive days. Probably, it will also return to the home and away format.

Meanwhile, in September the group stage will be played that will bring together the winning Qualifiers, the 2022 finalists and the two wildcards this year. On that same date, Argentina will participate in the Playoffs between the 12 losers of Qualifiers and the 12 winners of World Group 1, to try to sustain the category in 2024. Mago Coria’s team will be seeded and must wait for the draw next Thursday to knowing who their rival will be and in what conditions they will face them, whether as a local or a visitor.

The Argentine team will avoid any of the other 11 dangerous rivals that it will have in that draw. Potential rivals include Bulgaria, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Greece, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Peru, Turkey and Ukraine.

Against Israel and Denmark, Argentina would play at home, but would have to travel to Peru, in case it was their rival. In the rest of the cases the location and choice of surface will go to a draw.

The greatest risk that Argentina will have to face will be playing as a visitor and in a country, perhaps a European one, that can provide a surface that bothers the national players and that, in addition, suggests that they think about whether the trip will be worth it that week. glued to the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open.

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