Igor Sijsling, Robin Haase, Thiemo de Bakker and doubles specialist Jean Julien Rojer will represent The Netherlands during the Davis Cup meeting against Croatia from 12 to 14 September in Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. The most dangerous opponent for the Dutch players is the Croatian number one Marin Cilic told Jan Siemerink during the press conference on September the 2nd. “The way he plays at the US Open impresses me. He is a player with great qualities. To win of Cilic would be great, but that is not an easy task. Though, this does not mean that we won’t have a chance in this Davis Cup dual,’ the captain told us looking confident. ‘But we will have to play our best tennis.’ Tennisphotoworld.com was also present at the Vegeta ATP Tournament in Umag and the Croatian players also impressed us. Not only did star player Marin Cilic reach the semifinals (in which he lost of the defending champion Tommy Robredo) also the talented Borna Coric (aged 17!) reached the quarter finals in which he played three sets against world’s number 17 Fabio Fognini.
Overall at this moment the results of the Dutch players are not outstanding, but Jan Siemerink is sure that the level of play of the Dutch team can further be improved during the week before the dual. ‘I know from my own experience how important those practices are before the matches in the weekend.’ During the week we will practice a lot of hours on court and only on Thursday we will practice a little less, because on Friday the exciting matches will start.’ Right now Ziggo Dome is turned into a tennis stadium with a nice clay court. 4000 tennis fans will be able to join the Davis Cup in the weekend of September the 12th. The Dutch team has chosen to play on clay, because most Dutch players prefer the surface and the Croatian players all have very big serves and would probably prefer a faster surface to play on.
The ‘Dutchies’ will have to play their best tennis to make a chance of winning this Davis Cup meeting. Impossible? No, definitely not! The ambiance within the team is great and the support of the enthusiastic Dutch crowd has led to great results in the past. Thiemo de Bakker has beaten the Frenchman Gael Monfils and the Austrian player Jurgen Melzer. Let’s see what this meeting against Croatia will bring!
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