Spain triumphed over the U.S. Davis Cup team last month in a historic Madrid bullring packed with more than 20,000 flag-waving fans — a Hemingwayesque scene that made for a fierce home-court advantage.
     The United States Tennis Association (USTA) needs to break out of its predictable Davis Cup hosting rut and also do something dramatic March 6-8 when Switzerland, and most likely Roger Federer, come calling in the first [...]

The American defense of their 2007 Davis Cup championship ended in a bull ring in Madrid on Sunday.  World No. 1 Rafael Nadal trounced Andy Roddick 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 to put Spain place in the 2008 Davis Cup final against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Had Roddick been able to pull out a win in his five-set [...]

Match report from the Davis Cup website:
Americans Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish kept the defending champions’ hopes alive, defeating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 4-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4, spoiling Lopez’s 27th birthday celebration and Spain’s dream of a 3-0 sweep in the Davis Cup. Bryan, playing Davis Cup doubles without twin brother [...]

The Americans put up a tremendous effort Friday, with Sam Querrey pushing No. 1 Rafael Nadal to four sets and Roddick losing in a heartbreaking five-setter to David Ferrer, dropping the final set 8-6.  The Roddick-Ferrer match was a brilliantly played contest, with both players hitting 80 winners each and making only 55 or fewer [...]

Ferrer won the first, Roddick the second and third, and Ferrer came back to take the fourth.  Now they go to a fifth set, and you have to believe the U.S. chances of surviving hang in the balance.  A 2-0 lead would seem unsurmountable with Rafael Nadal waiting to play again Sunday. Follow scores at [...]

See daviscup.com for live scores.

10:58 a.m. ET:  Roddick loses first set in tiebreaker, (7-5).  See daviscup.com for live scores.

Sam Querrey won the first set against the world No. 1 in his Davis Cup debut but that was the end of the red dirt road for him.  Rafael Nadal ultimately won 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the first match being hosted in Madrid’s famous bullfighting arena.  See the Associated Press story for more [...]

From the Davis Cup web site:
Sam Querrey will have the toughest possible start to his Davis Cup career when he takes on world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the opening singles rubber in Madrid.
The second match on court sees world no.5 David Ferrer take on world no.8 Andy Roddick.
(On Saturday, Mardy Fish will team with [...]

Passed over when James Blake pulled out, Mardy Fish is on the team in Madrid this weekend, and most likely will play doubles.
Bob Bryan, the lefty of the twin brothers who won the U.S. Open doubles and have gone 14-2 in Davis Cup matches over the past five years, has pulled out with an ailing [...]