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Let me set the scene for you:  Weekly doubles match, indoors, Court 3, under a bubble covering four clay courts.  In the very first game I was struggling to hold serve when Anthony Pozzi, a good friend and lefty opponent possessing a devastating drop-overhead volley (yes, it doesn’t seem possible but it is — a dropper from [...]

This year thus far has been the breakout year for John Isner – winning his first ATP title, reaching the round of 16 in Australia, and making a heroic Davis Cup debut this weekend in which he played all three days, including a great effort as a last-minute sub in the doubles and a valiant five-set [...]

Bob Bryan and John Isner, subsituting for an ill Mike Bryan, fought back in the first and third set tiebreakers to win in four sets in the Davis Cub doubles against Serbia on Saturday.  A brilliant win, especially for Isner in his Davis Cup debut, a weekend in which he did not plan to play doubles.  Tomorrow [...]

The Bryan twins missed the chance to add to their Davis Cup record when Mike Bryan had to sit out of today’s doubles because of an upset stomach caused by something he ate, Tennis Channel commentator Leif Shiras said.  John Isner, who lost a more than three hour match yesterday, was the last minute substitute.  Tomorrow he plays Novak [...]

From Daviscup.com:  Novak Djokovic confirmed Serbia’s dominance over USA by beating Sam Querrey at the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie in Belgrade.
Playing in front of a passionate home crowd, Djokovic handed his team a commanding 2-0 lead on Friday. Despite a spirited fight back from Querrey in the third set, [...]

The Winter Olympics are over, but the Davis Cup, an event that has become more obscure than curling, has just begun.  To win, the U.S. has to get victories from John Isner and Sam Querrey over Victor Troicki, because they won’t be Novak Djokovic on clay.  The draw is out, with Isner making his Davis Cup [...]

Sam Cissell, recently named by the USTA as Alabama’s junior player of the year, also has the distinction of having been across the net from three-fourths of the U.S. Davis Cup team that plays in Serbia later this week.   The 16-year-old Cissell and friend Andrew Crumm last year won a doubles tournament that gave them the opportunity to [...]

A new era for American Davis Cup has begun, and it will be up to John Isner and Sam Querrey to step up and fill the shoes of long-time Davis Cuppers Andy Roddick and James Blake who are sitting out the competition this year.   The tall twosome — Isner is 6′9″ an Querey 6′6″ — have a [...]

Lost in much of the coverage of Federer the Great and Serena’s win in singles in the Australian Open were the feats by two sets of American siblings:  twins Bob and Mike Bryan won their eighth Grand Slam title, and Serena and Venus Williams won their 11th.  Americans may not win many singles titles these days, but [...]

I doubt most readers of this blog have been to an American dog track, where greyhounds run a frantic loop chasing an electronic rabbit that scoots along the rail.  In Sarasota, Fla., the announcer starts each race with a fevered, “Here comes lucky!” the dogs take off, and hundreds if not thousands of fans hold their [...]