Tennis Tuesday: March 1, 2016

Any team with the world No. 1 on its roster is heavily favored—even if he’s dealing with eye issues. Novak Djokovic will be joined by a resurgent No. 23-ranked Viktor Troicki, as well as Filip Krajinovic and former No. 1 doubles champion Nenad Zimonjic. The less experienced Kazakhstani team will have world No. 79 Mikhail Kukushkin as its leading man alongside Andrey Golubev, Alexsandr Nedovyesov and Dimitry Popko.

Though Poland is the home team, you have to consider Argentina the favorites. Leonardo Mayer helped Argentina reach the semifinals last year; the world No. 42 will be joined by Guido Pella, Carlos Berlocq, and Renzo Olivo. World No. 96 Jerzy Janowicz leads the Polish team. The former world No.14 has played just one match this year and is joined by Kamil Majchrzak and Lukasz Kubot (both ranked in the 300s) and doubles specialist Marcin Matkowski.

Italy’s Andreas Seppi is always a dangerous floater in any draw, and his 20 Davis Cup ties of experience will come in handy against a Swiss team lacking their two biggest stars. Seppi is joined by Paolo Lorenzi, Simone Bolelli and Marco Cecchinato. Switzerland’s third-best player, Marco Chiudinelli (ranked No. 146), will have the experience of winning the Davis Cup in 2014 to spur on him and his teammates Henri Laaksonen, Adrien Bossel and Antoine Bellier.

Andy Murray will lead the favored defending champion Brits (made up of Kyle Edmund, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot) as they face gritty Japanese opposition in Kei Nishikori, Taro Daniel, Yoshihito Nishioka and Yasutaka Uchiyama. Murray leads 5-1 over Japan’s No. 1 Kei Nishikori. Edmund has only played one Davis Cup match but recently hit a career-high ranking of No. 82, while Jamie Murray just won his first doubles major in Australia.

Canadian will be sorely missing their top singles and doubles players as Milos Raonic and Daniel Nestor pulled out of the tie this week. Now world No. 45 Vasek Pospisil will lead the team of Frank Dancevic, Philip Bester and Adil Shamasdin. The French team is considerably stronger with all four members inside the Top 20. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga heads the team alongside fellow Top 10 player Richard Gasquet, while Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon round out the quartet.

Belgium reached the Davis Cup final for the first time in history last year and will try to accomplish the feat again—with hopes of doing one better this time. They've named world No. 16 David Goffin to lead Kimmer Coppejans, Ruben Bemelmans and Arthur de Greef. But the Croats are putting forth a tough team that could pull off the upset with former US Open champion Marin Cilic, dangerous teenager Borna Coric, Ivan Dodig and Marin Draganja.

The Czech Republic team boasts the only Top 20 player in this matchup with world No. 7 Tomas Berdych. He will be joined by Lukas Rosol, Jiri Vesely and Davis Cup veteran Radek Stepanek. The Germans will try to hold off Berdych and the Czechs with team headliner Philipp Kohlschreiber (ranked No. 30). Germany has also named teenager Alexander Zverev (playing at his career-high ranking of No. 58), Dustin Brown and Philip Petzschner.

Team USA will try to do better than its first-round loss to Great Britain last year when it travels Down Under. The journey will be long, but John Isner, Jack Sock and the Bryan brothers are all locked in. Isner has risen back up to No. 11 and the Bryan brothers have a confidence-boosting 24-4 Davis Cup winning record. Australia is putting out a mixture of youth and experience with Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios, Sam Groth and John Peers. This tie is too tough to call.

Lunge into the cross-over step at a forward angle to cut the court off.

Step in first before getting ready to cross with your outside leg.

Begin with a split-step at the first marker.

This is a great drill for learning how to fluidly cross over to reach a difficult passing shot. After you split step, step forward first before lunging into your crossover step so you can reach a lot farther. Practice doing the right steps and repeat your crossover lunges over and over again until the footwork becomes natural and routine.

The 103S is the Spin Effect entry in Wilson’s new Ultra line. With more main strings than cross strings and a wide open 16-by-15 pattern, the frame boasts a big, springy hitting surface that promotes a higher launch point and lots of spin potential. Such playability made the 103S an acquired taste; our testers that naturally employ a higher ball flight with lots of topspin were much more enamored than those that hit flatter with a more linear shot shape. Big, looping ground strokes with plenty of pop, tight slices and bounding kickers were this racquet’s best shots. As one tester warned: “Watch out—high to the backhand serve, here I come!” Despite being less than 11 oz., its balance, extra quarter-inch of leverage and Cushion Foam handle also give the frame a surprisingly solid feel for its weight. Control was a bit challenging when trying to guide the ball or massage a volley, but fuller swings—resulting in a rolling angle or high-arcing topspin lob—added to the racquet’s all-around play. As one tester put it, “It’s much more versatile than I ever expected from a stiff, lightish, 27.25 in. frame.”

With this intricate buzz cut, Jack Sock wants Australia and the world to know he’s ready for this weekend’s Davis Cup tie.

Feliciano Lopez became the first man in 2016 to beat Novak Djokovic (with a retirement after the first set), but he still had time to pull off shots like this.

Animals were everywhere last week with the Sao Paulo event hiring dogs as more temperamental ball persons.

During Roberta Vinci’s third-round win in Doha, a stray cat stole the show by interrupting her set point.

Aussie Football is no match for Grigor Dimitrov and his superb athletic abilities.