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Davis Cup Schedule for Birmingham

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:44:52 +0000

The lineup of the matches between the U.S. and Switzerland in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday-Sunday will be determined in a draw ceremony on Thursday. Doors open Friday-Sunday at 11 a.m. Central Time, with the pre-match processional beginning at 12:30 p.m. each day, and then the matches start at 1 p.m. each day — two singles Friday, one doubles on Saturday, and the final two singles matches on Sunday. TV coverage will be on the Tennis Channel, starting at 1 p.m. Central (2 p.m. ET). Visit the home page for an in-depth preview.

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Sizing Up the Swiss Davis Cup Team, Sans Federer

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:54:42 +0000

"Hey, where did Roger go?"

Roger Federer’s decision to skip this week’s Davis Cup match in Birmingham, Ala., between the Swiss and U.S. team is like Andy Roddick and James Blake preparing to play the circa ’90s Chicago Bulls only to learn that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are out. Federer’s departure on what would have been essentially a two-man lineup leaves the Swiss with one quality player, No. 17-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka.

Wawrinka is a threat to win his singles matches against Roddick and Blake — something he will have to do if the Swiss have any chance. He cracked the top 10 last June, and partnered with Federer to win the Olympic Gold in doubles. He reached two ATP finals last year and also the fourth round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He also has never lost to Roddick or Blake, beating Blake twice on clay, including a five-setter in the French Open in 2005 in which he came back from two sets down. He also has a 1-0 record against Roddick, although it is not much of indicator because Roddick retired down 0-3 in the first set of the the Italian Open semifinal last year.

Federer’s most likely sub is Stephane Bohli, a 25-year-old ranked No. 147 who has spent most of his career on the Challenger tour. His highest rank ever achieved was 126 last September. Bohli, who is so obscure that ESPN hasn’t bothered to include his photo on his bio page, has played only 15 matches on the ATP, coming in a with a record of 6-9. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open qualifyings, although in February he beat No. 59 Teimuraz Gabashvili in a Challenger event. His only ATP match in 2009 was a loss to Gaels Monfils in which he retired down 0-1 after losing the first set 6-4. He has never played Blake or Roddick.

The Swiss also could call on Marco Chiudinelli who is ranked way down in the 400s due to missing 18 months with a knee injury has a suprisingly strong 4-2 Davis Cup record, including impressive wins over Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer when the Swiss beat the Spanish team on fast carpet in Switzerland in February 2007. His highest career ranking was 129 in 2005. He has never played either Blake or Roddick. He is lifelong friend of Roger Feder, writes Randy Walker on Tennisgrandstand.com.

In doubles, the Swiss team most likely will go with Wawrinka and 30-year-old doubles-specialist Yves Allegro who has a 5-5 Davis Cup doubles record, including a lopsided loss with Wawrinka against Belarus last year. But they will run up against a hot team in the No. 1 Bryan brothers, fresh of wins of the Delray Beach tournament on Sunday and the Australian Open in January.

My prediction? With a rowdy Alabama crowd behind them, either Blake or Roddick beat Wawrinka on Friday and the U.S. goes on to take the first three matches to clinch with ease.

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Federer-Free Rosters Set for Davis Cup in Birmingham

Joe Samuel Starnes — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:57:17 +0000

It’s a long drop from the number one and two rankings in Switzerland men’s tennis to the number three spot. The U.S. and Swiss teams have submitted rosters for the March 6-8 matches in Birmingham, and as expected instead of putting up the No. 2 player in the world, the Swiss will now lean heavily on No. 17 Stanislas Wawrinka and No. 150 Stephane Bohli in singles the matches against No. 6 Andy Roddick and No. 13 James Blake. The U.S. also has the world No. 1 doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan, fresh off their Australian Open victory, while the three and four spots on the Swiss depth chart drop farther down into the netherlands of the ATP rankings: No. 443 Marco Chiudinelli and Yves Allegro, who has no singles ranking but is No. 87 in doubles.

Of course, the paperwork is somewhat meaningless as teams can substitute up to one hour before the first service tossed is in the air. How ’bout it, Roger? Changed your mind yet?

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60-Minute Sell Out of Davis Cup in Birmingham

Joe Samuel Starnes — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:09:05 +0000

Tickets for the first Davis Cup match ever to be played in Alabama sold out quickly on Friday, The Birmingham News reports. “It was a little less than an hour, which is certainly impressive,” Jeff Ryan, director of tennis events for the United States Tennis Association, told the paper. This is a big improvement over the last American match in Winston-Salem last April where tickets against France went unsold, forcing match organizers to throw a black tarp over the highest rows of seats. The U.S. and a Roger Federer-led Switzerland team will meet in the first round on March 6-9.

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