Davis Cup - Ecuador vs Romania - Sept 2003
MATCH 2 - Singles

..

..

Nicolas Lapentti vs Razvan Sabau

After the serving marathon that had gone before, Nico's match against Sabau was always going to be different in character because both players were more comfortable on the baseline and based their games around long rallies rather than serve and volley.

With time getting on for the day, Nico seemed in a rush to level things up as he was in control early on. Sabau was having trouble controlling his strokes and Nico was able to underline his superiority and Davis Cup experience by taking the first two sets, 6-2, 6-4, in under 90 minutes.

However it would not be a Nico match without a little emotion and tension. The third set saw Sabau start to get his timing right and he quickly broke serve and led 3-0 before Nico levelled at 3-3. Nico immediately faltered again on serve and the Romanian took full advantage to break serve and soon had the third set 6-3. At this point it was Sabau who was in control; he was moving much better around the court, being more aggressive and had found weaknesses in his opponent; Nico had become much more defensive and was playing well behind the baseline and was moving backwards rather than forwards.

The fourth set was very even with the players swapping service games early on and I think that as the weather was deteriorating and the light was beginning to fade, everyone was hoping that Nico could just finish the match off! However, the tightest and longest game of the day came at 4-4 on Nico's serve. It lasted about 25 minutes and had so many "deuce" and "advantage" points I lost count - Nico saved 8 break points - but at the very end the balance was tipped in Sabau's favour as he broke serve (for a second time) and at this point the referee called time and play was suspended for the day.

This meant that Nico would have to come back the next day and immediately try and break serve or know that he would have to play a final set – possibly a long set – as well as the all important doubles rubber.

The weather on the morning of day 2 was bright and sunny. Another early start for me – I was up and at the club before Nico went to have his practice session. Again he looked comfortable and ready for anything. At 10 am – the time set by for the match to restart, the players were nowhere to be seen. Eventually a few minutes later they finally appeared.

At the restart Sabau had no trouble serving out the set, which meant a fifth set and as it was Nico, it could only mean another rollercoaster ride. Although this match was by no means as close in match/games score as the previous rubber had been, it lacked non of the tension and stress. It had much more; the final set was emotional and heartwrenching because of the swings in momentum between the teams.

It was the best set of the match as both players gave their best tennis. There were long rallies with superb winners; as well as cheeky dropshots and horrible errors. It certainly was not a match for the faint hearted. With so much riding on this set (the difference from the tie being level or Ecuador being 0-2 down), Nico knew he had to give it everything. He took the early break of serve to lead 2-0 and the crowd could sense victory. However, he struggled on serve and soon Sabau had levelled. Nico then grasped control again to lead 4-2 but again he faltered, letting Sabau break back again for 4-3. By this time the players had been on court nearly an hour (playing just 8 games) before Nico made it third time lucky by breaking for 5-3, leaving him to serve out the match. Even with the end in sight, the Romanian did not give up and forced Nico to play one of his best service games to take the match – on his 4^th matchpoint. At the moment of victory the pleasure and relief for Nico was immense and the public gave him a standing ovation as he celebrated with his team members. However, the celebrations did not last long because Nico rushed off back to the locker room to prepare for the doubles rubber which was due to start just over an hour later.

The tie was 1-1.

Next part - Match 3.