[Sport] Bruguer's obstacle course

[#Wittels-]

Since taking the reins of the team in 2017, the Spanish captain has had to deal with multiple setbacks and this Davis Cup has been no exception.

“Sometimes it is said to be a brown, but this is so and has always been so. It is the negative part of this ”.

At his launch, a few days after taking over the captaincy, October 2018, Sergi Bruguera reflected on what it meant to accept the challenge of the bench and all that this entails; especially, the difficulty of having those selected due to the erosion exerted by the annual calendar of the ATP or by the particular interests of the players, which with the old format of the Davis Cup - qualifying rounds interspersed throughout the year - distanced itself from the competition because it interfered with the personal calendar.

 

Three years later, Bruguera has been able to verify that the captaincy requires bobbin lace and its route, adorned with the Salad Bowl achieved in 2019, has not been without thorns and is translated into an obstacle course. Without going any further, for the assault of the edition that is held these days, the coach has had to redo on the fly: first Roberto Bautista fell, due to an abdominal injury, and the day before the premiere against Ecuador had to be separated Carlos Alcaraz for the covid. Consequently, the technician was forced to pick up the mobile and patch in a hurry, with practically no margin.

 

Albert Ramos and Pedro Martínez were the relays, they joined the race and appear on the payroll of Spain, which after solving the opening against Ecuador with many more difficulties than those indicated by the final record (3-0), this Sunday (4:00 p.m. , #Vamos) access to the quarters is played against the solid Russia of Daniil Medvedev, who beat the South Americans 3-0 - also leaving two sets - and burst into the Madrid Arena like a battleship. The Spanish team must win, or in the case of losing the series, do the math and rely on the numbers to be one of the two best runners-up in the group stage.

“We have had to deal with a thousand things in the last two years. Since Sergi is captain, everything has happened to us, in each tie at least one injury, "said Feliciano López a couple of days ago, who landed last week in the concentration thinking that he would act in the doubles, but given the circumstances he was forced to intervene in the singles and then, unwell by the effort, he could not train with Marcel Granollers. "We are having very bad luck," lamented Pablo Carreño, team leader and that on Friday he had to invest 5h 16m, uninterruptedly, having to unfold.

 

Dizziness, tiredness, knees, fingers ...
"Feli was dizzy, so he couldn't play and Pablo was tired, but I opted for him because Pedro had only trained in the morning," explained Bruguera at dawn, resigned to the unfolding of events. However, nothing has been easy. Since his election as captain, the Barcelonian (50 years old) has seen them in all colors.

From the outset, as soon as he set foot, he could not count on Rafael Nadal on his first date because the Spaniard, who subsequently injured his iliac psoas in Melbourne, told him that he could not compete against Great Britain because of the transition from Australian cement to Marbella clay could harm your body; later, for the crossing against Germany in Valencia, he lost a Carreño due to a finger injury and appealed urgently to Marc López; then Nadal fell off the list again for the semi-finals against France, in Lille, by injuring his right knee just a few days earlier in New York; And in 2019, a happy date for the success in the Caja Mágica, he had to rebuild the team emotionally in full competition due to the death of Roberto Bautista's father.

 

In between, the pandemic stopped the circuit for seven months and what was to be the second edition of Davis under the new format, was canceled. Now, the present once again presents a path full of nails.

Adversity as a spur
“This week has been a challenge for us, but we have already been through a lot over the years and we always had something left. We must show that we are capable of surviving and going through these difficult times. Neither Roberto nor Carlos are here, but we are a fighting team, ”said Feliciano, while the Spanish team processes the shocks and the coach readjusts as best he can, confident that adversity has a reversed effect and acts as a spur.

“It is true that not being able to count on Rafa, who for me is the best player in the history of Davis, is a disadvantage. But we can't think about that. We have a very strong team with good players. Without Rafa it is different, but we are still a difficult opponent to beat ”, rebels the coach. Faced with misfortunes, Bruguera clings to the block and the pride of his players as the engine. Everything will be needed in this Davis that began to stumble.

 

Link: https://elpais.com/deportes/2021-11-27/la-carrera-de-obstaculos-de-bruguera.html