"Now there is no point in changing Rublyov": Chesnokov on rotation in the Russian national team and difficulties on the way to the Davis Cup final

- At first glance, the Russian team made it to the Davis Cup playoffs quite easily, but you can't say that based on the results of the matches

- I would not say that the guys made it to the quarterfinals without any problems. It was just that the Ecuadorians were missing the stars from the sky. But it's one thing to play with such a team, and another thing to play with more solid opponents. And the confrontation with the Spaniards turned out to be very difficult. Yes, we played successfully in pairs, although Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers are good tennis players. However, if Daniil Medvedev had given even a set, the doubles match would have been perceived completely differently from a psychological point of view. Then Aslan Karatsev with Andrei Rublev would definitely need to get a victory. This is not the same when you only need one game to exit. But Danya started the second game with 0: 3, another break from Pablo Carreno-Busta, and that's it - with a high degree of probability the set would have remained for the Spaniard. And so, in the decisive meeting, we would have won one game with you.

- Evgeny Kafelnikov, during the broadcast of the pair meeting with the Spaniards, complained that it would be better to be defeated and come out of second place in the group, but at the same time to deprive the Serbs of the quarterfinals and get a more comfortable schedule.

Do you agree with him?

- I don't even know how to do it.

We could have played the whole game and refused, but decided to fight to the end, to overcome the test.

Suddenly there would be claims in case of withdrawal from the game - Serbia would be framed.

Well done, that finished the game, but the question remains whether it was worth it at all.

Moreover, we ended the meeting late, which is also a minus.

The same Rublev played enough to the fullest, played four matches in two days and each of three sets.

- Do you get the impression that Russian tennis players were too light-headed towards their rivals in the group stage?

- Even before the meeting with the Spaniards, I said: it will be very difficult with them. After the defeat of Rublev, the hosts of the competition had more chances of success. Moreover, Lopez and Granollers have played a pair against us not for the first time, they know Russian tennis players well and have already won two years ago. This time, fortunately, they did not succeed, although Feliciano was great alone. In general, the results show that there are no weak teams in the Davis Cup. For example, I thought that Croatia had no chance against Italy, and the 273rd racket of the world is destroying Lorenzo Sonego. It would seem that the man is playing at home, but in the last game he was simply not on the court. Lorenzo amazed me with his insecurity and mistakes. In the decisive game, the Italians were opposed by the strongest greenhouses of the planet, so everything was obvious to me.

- Rublev has recently been experiencing problems with rivals inferior to him in class, but at the same time Shamil Tarpishchev is releasing him in a pair.

Don't you think that the captain believes too much in the fifth racket of the world?

- It is better to ask Shamil Anvyarovich.

Yes, Andrey is not in the best shape.

But it's hard for me to decide whether to let Rublev play only a couple, and let Karen Khachanov or Karatsev play alone.

To understand whether we need rotation, we need to go to tournaments with the participation of our players.

Even when you are not the personal trainer of Medvedev and Rublev, you should, at least in recent months, carefully monitor their condition and health.

It depends on this who will appear on the court in the Davis Cup matches.

- Nevertheless, in places Andrei has ceased to be like himself.

What happened to him at the end of the season?

- He looked great at the beginning of the year and good in the middle. In the fall, he lost to Francis Tiafoe at the US Open, quickly flew out at the Kremlin Cup, St. Petersburg Open and the Parisian Masters. At the Final, something incomprehensible happened at all: I always won against Kasper Ruud and played here too, but was defeated. So I would go to the semifinals, and no one would say that the end of the season is a failure. Perhaps fatigue is at work. Before the match with Lopez, I estimated his chances 50/50. Feliciano caught the courage in his stands, he could get into the court with his eyes closed that day. But also do not forget that the meeting was held in the highlands, where it is difficult to play. At least it was always uncomfortable for me to control the ball in Madrid

- The Swedes do not have a very strong pair, and Elias Imer will clearly not be the favorite alone, no matter who of the Russians comes out against him.

Shouldn't Tarpishchev think about rotation in the quarterfinals?

- Now is the decisive stage of the Davis Cup, and if you make changes in the squad, it already looks like some kind of not entirely appropriate experiment.

I agree that if a tennis player performs poorly, then perhaps it makes sense to make a substitution, put another player.

And compare who showed himself better.

This can be done, but it is not entirely clear if there is time for this.

Now it makes no sense to put someone instead of Rublev, who went through the entire group stage.

- But fatigue accumulates and can manifest itself at the most inopportune moment.

Is it really better to continue testing Andrey with two matches a day?

- I agree that this is not the best solution, but it is worth noting that Rublev lost at the tournament not completely.

Lopez showed the level of not a 40-year-old veteran who does not get into the hundred.

He demonstrated all his skill and versatility, as if he were from the top 20: he played cut in the second serve, and came out to the net unexpectedly.

In addition, the Spaniard was not quite comfortable with Andrei in terms of rhythm, he played in a variety of ways.

But according to the first set, it was impossible to say that Rublev would concede.

Let's see if he can still show his best performance in the tournament.

Nothing terrible has happened yet.

Top team✌🏻🙌🏻 @ DavisCuppic.twitter.com / FM3aCvoOMS

- Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) December 1, 2021

- Is it not surprising that Khachanov is not even given the opportunity to prove himself in the national team, although he certainly would have coped with the task of winning one game in a pair just as well?

“I think it's too early to say that Karen has disappeared from the radar, if that's what you mean.

He was still in the finals of the Olympics, he is in the top 30 of the ranking.

I am sure that at any time, when required, he will be ready to go to court.

- One gets the impression that the team is now going out on Medvedev's self-confidence.

But after all, the man held the most meetings this season and is also not iron, which was confirmed by the second sets with Emilio Gomez and Carreño Busta.

Does this cause fears?

- Yes, he himself noted that he is not very comfortable on the slow court in Madrid.

However, it will definitely not be as difficult with the Swedes as with the hosts, they even have a second line-up that looks more impressive.

For the Scandinavians, everything rests on the Imer brothers, but the eldest is in the second hundred and is a bit of a wooden player.

The younger is more talented, but do not forget that they lost to the Kazakhs too.

We are stronger than them in all respects and must go further.

- Germany is already waiting for the winner of our pair in the semifinals.

Were you surprised by their victory over the British, who have two representatives at once in the top 30 of the

ATP

- For me, of course, my favorites were Cameron Norrie and Daniel Evans.

It would seem that Germany arrived at the competition without Alexander Zverev, but continues on its way.

In general, the Davis Cup turns out to be unpredictable.

As we have already recalled, Croatia was also an underdog against Italy.

In the match between Britain and Germany, Kevin Kravitz and Tim Puetz were completely behind 0-5 in the second tie-break, but took seven points in a row.

I was shocked at all.

The opponent could not do anything on the opponent's serve, and in the end the German played great right through.

Yes, the British have strong individual tennis players, but Jan-Lennard Struff is also a strong middle peasant.

Starting in 2019, he defeated many of the top ten: Medvedev and Rublev as well.

- In other words, should you be afraid of them in case of reaching the semifinals?

- Of course, they have good greenhouses.

But we must first guarantee ourselves a way out.

It's not even that singles are higher in our class.

The main advantage of Russia is that it has already played in Madrid.

You don't have to get used to it, unlike your opponent.

We no longer need to adapt to either the highlands, or the courts, or the air.

- And if Russia does end up in the final, who would you like to see your opponent?

- It will be better both for the audience and for world tennis in general if Daniil plays with Novak in the final.

Of course, Djokovic is in great shape.

But it's worth noting that he himself is not a fan of high ground arenas.

However, the Serbs are favorites right up to the final.

So we are waiting for the final with them and Medvedev's revenge with the first racket of the world.

- Undoubtedly, the meeting between Daniel and Novak will beautify the tournament, because they are the main stars.

At the same time, other tops ignored the Davis Cup

“I don’t think that’s the reason.

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Tim were injured, otherwise they could have played.

Perhaps this refers to Zverev, Sasha just decided to take a break at the end of the season.

Suddenly he wants to start the next year with full force, how to recover.

Think,

such a shortened format, on the contrary, is even convenient for the players, but not so good for the audience.

Previously, each country actually hosted the tournament and could grab a piece of the Davis Cup atmosphere.

In short, there are pros and cons.

- Many are in favor of bringing back the old format with five-match confrontations, which was more intriguing.

- I think there is no turning back.

We used to play four times a year for the Davis Cup, but it was not very comfortable.

Imagine, you are preparing for the dirt season, and suddenly you have to fly to perform not even on hard, but almost on a wooden surface.

I remember how we even went to play on the grass against India during such a period.

These nuances should always be remembered when we talk about a possible return to the old format.