Top Spin Blog » Davis Cup

U.S. versus Spain: 0-9

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:11:55 +0000

Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is the record of American men versus Spanish men in singles during Wimbledon and the recent Davis Cup meeting.

For some well-chosen but dismal descriptions of the state of the American team, check out Jonathan Scott on Tennis.com who concludes his article “U.S. Davis Cup Team Walks the Plank” this way: “Down for the count. Dead in the water. Another sad metaphor for those matches.”

Perhaps we should have seen this coming when Patrick McEnroe decided to step down.

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Bryan Time!

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:44:11 +0000

Spain, meet the greatest doubles team of all time (and recent Wimbeldon doubles champs.)

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U.S. versus Spain: 0-9 Zero to nine. The number says it all. That is...

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See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup

Joe Samuel Starnes — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:13:25 +0000

With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American men completed a dismal 0-6 record in singles on the grass against Spanish players over the Wimbledon fortnight (fortnight being one of those words you only hear once a year when Wimbledon rolls around). Not exactly the confidence boost captain Jim Courier wanted going into the U.S. versus Spain Davis Cup quarterfinal starting July 8. But the American team has four things going for it:

The match is indoors, on a hard, fast court where the ball takes an honest bounce. No more of this muddled European soil.

Doubles is a critical point, and we have the number one team in the world, the Bryan brothers. By they way, they are in the semis and going for the win. (Someone should point this out to ESPN’s resident airhead Chris Fowler who endlessly recites the inaccuracy that there is only “one American man left in the draw.” )

The U.S. has never lost to Spain in the states, and holds a 5-4 record dating back to 1965. Roddick’s hometown crowd will give the U.S. team a boost. Texans know how to whoop it up.

And the big one — Rafael Nadal is taking the week off. However, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez (who beat Roddick in the third round of Wimbledon), and Fernando Verdasco (whom Roddick beat in a Wimledon warmup) are coming and will make for tough competition. Roddick and Fish, fresh off some big wins, will make up the U.S. team with the Bryans. Lineups were announced earlier this week. It’s too bad that Nadal won’t be there, but that’s par for the course in Davis Cup, where the real superstars often sit out.

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Nadal To Skip Davis Cup in Texas

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:18:55 +0000

This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed Davis Cup for more than 20 minutes. From the Austin-American Statesman. Related posts:See You in Texas — U.S. Will Try to Avenge 0-6 Wimbledon Singles Record Against Spanish in Davis Cup With Mardy Fish’s quarterfinal loss to Rafael Nadal, the American...Davis Cup in Roddick’s Hometown: Austin The U.S. Davis [...] Related posts:

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Can Fish Turnaround the Spanish Beatdown of American Players?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:08:10 +0000

The matches between Spanish players and Americans at Wimbledon have been rough for the home team: Andy Roddick lost to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. John Isner lost to Nicholas Almalgro in four. Michael Russell and Ryan Sweeting both lost to Rafael Nadal in three. Ryan Harrison lost to David Ferrer in five sets.

Americans are 0-5 against Spanish players at Wimbledon. Times have changed with players from a red clay court country dominate the Americans on grass. If only Roddick and Isner could have had a shot in the nineties when all it took was an unreturnable serve to reach the finals (remember Krajicek and Ivanisevic?) where you lost to Pete Sampras.

This year there were only nine Americans in the draw; the only three Americans to lose to players not from the Iberian Peninsula were James Blake (remember him?), Donald Young (and him?), and Alex Bogomolov.

But there’s one match set for Wednesday that could make up for all of it. Mardy Fish, making a strong showing beating Tomas Berdych on Monday to reach the quarters, goes up against number one seed Nadal. A Fish win would be huge, not only his biggest win ever, but it would give the Americans some positive momentum heading into the July 8-10 Davis Cup matchup between the two countries in Austin, Texas.

Fish is 0-5 in his career against Nadal, but the way he’s playing, don’t count him out.

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Davis Cup in Roddick’s Hometown: Austin

Joe Samuel Starnes — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:25:30 +0000

The U.S. Davis Cup match against Spain has been set for Austin, Texas, hometown of Andy Roddick, running from July 8-10.

Let’s hope that Nadal will make the trip, but I’m betting the hard, indoor court will not be that appealing to him, especially if he goes deep in Wimbledon where the men’s final is set for Sunday, July 3 — only five days before the Davis Cup play begins.

A Nadal no-show would put most likely Verdasco and Ferrer in the singles slots. Ferrer’s a tough competitor, but we know how Verdasco feels about hard, fast courts.

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Roddick Finishes the Job in Chile; Where to next, Andy?

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 23:43:34 +0000

Big-time comeback for Roddick on the red clay in Chile today — now on to Austin, San Antonio or Albany for the next round this summer.

With the top dog Texas-resident back on the team, it’s got to be Austin or San Antonio when the Spaniards come calling in July. (The USTA wouldn’t snub Andy and his brother a second time around, would they?)

Here’s an idea: let the player who has carried the singles lines on his back for the past decade pick the next location. He deserves it. Where to, Andy?

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U.S. Davis Cup: Roddick, Isner, Bryan & Bryan

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 22:52:35 +0000

In his first official order of business, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier today announced his lineup for the match in Chile on March 4-6. I’m surprised he’s taking the Bryans — not that they won’t dominate and win their match for sure, but with the Davis Cup format, if Roddick or Isner get hurt on Friday, one of them will have to fill in the singles line on Sunday. On clay. At 32, almost 33. Read: No chance.

The best thing for Courier to do for the team — as hard as it would be — is to play one of the Bryans and Querrey (the twins could flip a coin, maybe?). Querrey is a strong doubles player, but also can fill the singles line if needed. The Davis Cup format doesn’t do any favors for players who can’t hang in singles. As strong as the Bryans are in doubles — and they are the best team in the history of the game — they’d be in serious trouble playing solo on the red dirt.

Of course, Courier still has the option to change his mind (Sam Querrey is supposedly planing to make the trip). And the Chileans, without an injured Fernando Gonzalez, are weak — their highest ranked player, Paul Capdeville, is 171 in the world, although Nicolas Massu, now 228 in the world, has the most experience, not to mention an Olympic Gold medal.

But that’s one of the great things about Davis Cup. At home on their own red clay, they’ll have a chance, regardless of the imbalance in rankings. Not to mention that at the moment Roddick is ill, Querrey’s shoulder is sore, and Mardy Fish is unable to play due to a thyroid problem.

I’m hoping the U.S. will get past this one, Spain beats Belgium, and we’ll be in store for a match-up in the states with the mighty Spaniard team in July. With Roddick back on the team this year, they have a fighting chance at home.

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Serbs Superb over Fading French in Davis Cup Final

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:41:06 +0000

I should have slept in. After yesterday’s fantastic doubles comeback by the French, I woke up early, expecting the Monfils-Djokovic match to be a battle. Instead Monfils made a mess of things. Michael Llodra did no better against Victor Troicki in the second match, very uneventful for the rare 2-2 matchup in a final. The French players won only 15 games in six sets, and Serbia is the 2010 Davis Cup champion. At least now the Serbian line judges accused yesterday by their team of being “unpatriotic” for serving up some home cooking now don’t have to worry too much about being deported — or worse.

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Super Showdown — Davis Cup Final in Serbia

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:54:31 +0000

Forget football and its ex-dogfighting bankrupt heroes and laptop stealing corrupt college “students.” The best sporting event this weekend is the Davis Cup final between France and Serbia, tied after Friday at 1-1. Djokovic and Monfils, first up on Sunday, promises to be a humdinger, with the country that wins Saturday’s doubles going for the win, the other fighting to see a decisive fifth match between Tipsarevic and Simon. Here’s hoping for the full five, and a fifth setter to boot. Check it on the Tennis Channel, 9 a.m. EST Saturday for the doubles, and starting at 7 a.m. Sunday for the final day of singles.

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