Ted Robinson’s Matchpoints

The regard with which Andy Roddick and his US teammates hold Davis Cup was clear this weekend in Winston-Salem.

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How other great players around the world regard it was also seen in the attitude of Richard Gasquet.

Roddick clinched the tie; he is 10-0 in such matches, with a pulverizing straight set win over Paul-Henri Mathieu. The American closer, every bit as strong in that role as Mariano Rivera has been in baseball, never gave the French any hope.

His win pushed the US into the semi-finals, a road tie in Spain. And Andy addressed that tie in a post-match interview heard by the entire arena, “Even though Spain may put down a surface that is not to my strength, I guarantee one thing: I will be there.”

In contrast, we offer Gasquet. Wildly talented and equally erratic in mind, Gasquet came to North Carolina in a slump, and appeared disinterested in playing after experiencing the quick indoor court in practice.

After the Clement-Llodra doubles win Saturday, captain Guy Forget was seen in an animated conversation with Gasquet. A psychic was not needed to understand the purpose of this chat: to play or not to play, that was the question Gasquet had to answer.

Forget said he provided the answer on Friday, that Gasquet did not inspire any confidence from Forget that the player wanted the assignment.

But now France had a live Sunday with Mathieu, dispirited from his 5-set loss to James Blake, and a fatigued Llodra who would be challenged to play well on three consecutive days.

Gasquet practiced Saturday night and again Sunday morning. But it was decided that Mathieu would oppose Roddick and, if France produced an upset, that Gasquet would play the fifth match.

Roddick rendered the fifth match irrelevant. But the real point was the coercion needed to get Gasquet on the court.

It’s been a recurring theme in Gasquet’s life, and we won’t play amateur psychologist but we hope somehow a player with Gasquet’s skills can achieve some strength of mind. But Davis Cup should be an honor, not an obligation or burden.

For that, Roddick, as well as Blake, Mardy Fish and the Bryans, should be praised. They play anywhere, anytime and utter not a complaint.

Andy wrote another chapter in what is becoming his tennis legacy– his Davis Cup brilliance. Utterly confident, he smashed the No. 12 player in the world, winning his 29th Cup match, just one behind Andre Agassi for 2nd on the U.S. list.

Although they all know that clay and Rafael Nadal await them in September, this U.S. team will not need any persuasion to get them on the plane or in their clay-court shoes.

It struck me during the U.S. practice Thursday. And it was displayed in full during the pair of US Friday wins in Winston-Salem.

Andy Roddick and James Blake are in a different mode during Davis Cup. There is a calm about them, partly born, I believe, from the camaraderie they have engineered through five years as teammates.

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They move through this weekend with ease, joking with each other and their respective groups, engaging in pranks, celebrating wins and generally acting as masters of their domain.

And this is without arrogance, simply confidence.

No Federer or Nadal in this environment. Enthusiastic crowds that provide reinforcement. And family and friends packing the stands.

So when the tricky serves of Michael Llodra test Roddick, it is the Davis Cup belief that lifts Andy to a pair of tiebreak wins and a straight set win that could have been much tougher.

When Blake runs into a fiercely competitive Paul-Henri Mathieu, serving unconsciously in the first set, and fighting to erase his bad DCup memories, it is that belief that saves Blake.

Pushed to a fifth set, Blake lapsed into his bad body language mode after Mathieu broke for 2-0. Blake held and then, after a battle, broke back that brought the crowd, perhaps lapsing themselves near the end of a 7-hour day, roaring back to life.

Hearing that support, Blake raised his shoulders and his game, which he needed when Mathieu held 2 match points serving at 5-4. It was the moment when Mathieu’s ability to close would be tested. As well, Blake’s fight and resolve in 5-set battles, an issue reversed at last year’s US Open, would be confirmed.

Amidst growing noise, Blake survived the match points and launched one of his patented runs, winning 13 of 16 points to end Mathieu’s, and perhaps France’s, hopes.

It was Davis Cup in the United States, not sold out (did the scheduling of this on Masters weekend hurt attendance?) but nonetheless intensely supportive. And once again, Andy Roddick and James Blake seem to be at home wherever the U.S. DCup team calls home.

The court is fast. Lightning fast, more so than the speedy surface used by Team USA in Portland last December. 

And it impacted France, as designed. Richard Gasquet does not seem excited to play on the fast court and captain Guy Forget subbed Michael Llodra against Andy Roddick.

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Instead of the anticipated Roddick-James Blake/Gasquet-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battles, we have Paul-Henri Mathieu-Llodra for France.

If both men bring their serves Friday, Roddick-Llodra will be decided in tiebreaks.

Tough news on Tsonga. If surgery is needed, he likely missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

This US team plays its 10th consecutive tie together, remarkable in that the next longest run by any US team is 3.

One of the practice players is David Martin, a lefty brought along to mimic the serve and volley style of Llodra.

Had a chance to talk with Martin after his practice with Roddick (by the way, Martin brought down the house with his Vanilla Ice impression at the official banquet).”

Martin is a 27-year-old Stanford grad who, with partner Scott Lipsky, has raised his doubles rank to a career-best 47.

He represents the earnest doubles player trying to make a living in the game they love through the one necessary means.

While the world’s best men were playing in Indian Wells and Miami for the last month, you know what David Martin has been doing?

Nothing.

The world’s 50th ranked doubles player couldn’t get in to those tournaments.

Why? The new ATP doubles policy that leads to more singles players entering, and losing quickly or withdrawing, from doubles.

Fewer spots means the cutoff is too high for Martin and Lipsky to qualify.

Play Challengers in the meantime? Possible, except the money is so low that the players would struggle to break even. And winning a Challenger would not improve their ranking. Martin said he might consider playing some singles, in the qualies, of Challengers just to get some matches.

This is the other side of the new ATP system: David Martin and his idle March. A premier double player unable to play in the 2 biggest tournaments in the US each spring.

It was still an hour before Pete Sampras and Roger Federer would take the court at Madison Square Garden. Two highly ranked 15-year-olds were playing an exhibition and there was already a buzz flowing from the crowd. Standing on the court while the youngsters hit, you could look up to the highest parts of the building and see seats filling and every suite occupied.

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Although news reports told of scalper prices over $1,000 per ticket, it was still stunning to feel the vibe in the Garden last night.

There were champions everywhere and Tiger Woods made sure it wasn’t just a tennis crowd.

Tennis royalty, spanning generations, was honored. The three men with the most Slams were together for the first time as Roy Emerson joined Pete and Roger for on-court photos. Tony Trabert and Stan Smith were honored for their Davis Cup contributions, as was current Captain, Patrick McEnroe.

There was the odd sight of my partner, John McEnroe, greeting the event’s co-promoter, Ivan Lendl. Two men, never particularly close but linked through many memorable matches, including a pair at the Garden, finding some ease in their mid-life relationship.

So you get the idea — it was a New York night, a who’s who of tennis, sports executives and engaged fans.

The tennis was puzzling and uncertain. Johnny Mac visited the locker room 30 minutes before the match and came to the booth surprised by Pete’s level of tension.

It showed early in the match, especially to Federer who took the first set with ease.

When Roger eased up, displaying the respect that characterizes both of these champions, and seemed willing to carry Pete through the second set, something dangerous happened: Pete found his bearing. He became younger before our eyes. His serve ripped through the fast court and his volleys regained the crispness of better times.

Taking the second set, Sampras pleased a crowd that wanted more, although not necessarily Federer. And Roger charged through the first two games of the third set as if he wanted no mystery. But as McEnroe related from personal experience, regaining one’s edge is tricky once you let up. And Federer lived that through the rest of a third set that ended with Roger surviving an 8-6 tiebreak.

And at the end, as the friends embraced at net, most of the Garden, filled to 19,900, stood and cheered.

My inbox has delivered opinions from critics of this event and the concept of “Sampras Across America.”

Acknowledging that “purists” seem to find more enjoyment from the Umag qualies than any exhibition, I challenge anyone who was in the Garden to question the night.

This was a New York crowd. The U.S. Open plays in New York 2 weeks a year and smashed attendance records. But this event, on a Monday night in March, sold out in 3 weeks — to New Yorkers. They spoke with their wallets as well as their cheers.

No argument — this was entertainment. But it was provided by tennis. No one in the house could buy an argument that pairing the two greatest men’s champions in tennis, even for an exhibition, is a bad thing.

One of the best parts of the evening was seeing the cooperation within tennis. The ATP granted a waiver for Federer to play an exo the same week as a Masters, the USTA helped promote the event to its membership, and the Hall of Fame showed the event in its Newport, RI theater, one of 12 US locations to air the telecast.

Personal note: in a time of steroids, HGH, Spygate, Betfair, congressional hearings and a week that saw an Olympian enter jail, it was comforting to have a feel-good night in sports. All the better that tennis was the provider. And it should be guilt-free.

First, apologies to Novak Djokovic. Thanks to tennis reporters.net, a first-hand account of the Davis Cup tie in Moscow indicated the terrific efforts of the Serb to lift his country in their historic World Group match.

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Just a week removed from his first Slam title, Djokovic arrived in Moscow and was promptly hammered by the flu. At the same time, Janko Tipsarevic rolled an ankle in practice and Serbia played Friday with one truly healthy player.

So, Djokovic toughed out Saturday’s do-or-die doubles and partnered with Nenad Zimonjic for an extraordinary win. With Serbia alive into Sunday, Djokovic then took the court for a singles match with Nikolay Davydenko. Dizziness and nausea felled him after the third set, and trailing 2 sets to 1, Djokovic retired.

We see that devotion to Davis Cup from the Americans and rarely anywhere else. Kudos to Djokovic.

Traveling the Pac-10 hoop beat today so missed Day 1 of Davis Cup. But I received a call from a TV executive involved with the Versus/Tennis Channel production after the day’s play ended.

His message: James Blake was tough.

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Could Blake have drawn a tougher opening day? Facing Stefan Koubek, a tricky lefty who pestered Blake at last year’s US Open, on clay?

Things looked bleak when Blake dropped the final 4 games of the first set. Problems were compounded when Koubek raced out 5-2 in the second.

But Blake “took chances” in the words of Austrian captain Gilbert Schaller. Coupling his punishing forehand with a surprisingly varied backhand, Blake stunned the Austrians by ripping off 5 straight games to steal the second set. And it obviously broke Koubek’s spirit as the 6-2 scores in the final two sets would indicate.

Andy Roddick had his own challenge — pushed to a fifth set by Jurgen Melzer. But Roddick has been there before on clay, the 17-15 heartbreak to Dmitry Tursunov in ‘06 and the fifth-set clincher over Tomas Berdych in last year’s first round.

While Roddick’s fifth set win was impressive, we have almost come to expect such heroics from him in Davis Cup.

It’s Blake who still carries some baggage on his back from past struggles. But each win like Friday’s lightens his load.

The second round USA match, assuming clinching wins on both sides, would be against France, 2-0 leaders over Romania, in an April return to Winston-Salem. The city was an extraordinary host to last year’s won over Spain, earning them another tie.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made his Davis Cup debut Friday with a win and the French boast one of 2007’s best doubles teams in Arnaud Clement-Michael Llodra. This figures to be a much tougher test for the U.S.

Sad to read Chris Clarey’s Friday New York Times piece on Davis Cup. The USTA, wise minds in the marketing of tennis, tried selling the ITF on ways to make this event relevant. Apparently the pleas fell on deaf ears.

So here is the Davis Cup that pleases the ITF: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are nowhere to be seen, Novak Djokovic pulls out at the last minute with the “flu”, Britain returns to World Group (thanks in part to Tim Henman’s win in his farewell match) but draws Argentina on clay so Andy Murray bails. Just terrific stuff. Makes you truly appreciate the dedication of Roddick and Blake.

The U.S. won the Davis Cup in early December, the end of a 7-year journey led by Patrick McEnroe and Andy Roddick.

They had 8 weeks to enjoy their triumph. Now the tennis world dictates the U.S. begin defense of their title this weekend in Austria on clay.

Sensible, isn’t it?

Davis Cup is run by the ITF, a European outfit that indicates little understanding or concern about selling tennis’ premier international competition on the world’s biggest stage.

This lament is familiar but perhaps only repetition can hammer home the obvious truth that Davis Cup is thoroughly irrelevant in the U.S. outside of the hard-core tennis crowd.

Let’s chronicle the insanity:

Playing the championship match in the peak of pro and college football mania pushed the U.S. win into complete anonymity.

Giving the defending champions no reward risks blunting any momentum created by a country’s success. How does any legitimate competition explain how a reigning champion has to win an away tie, on a surface chosen to hurt them, to avoid facing a relegation match? How does the U.S. public buy such a concept, especially if the Austrians can pull of an upset and the US is forced to win a match this spring to stay in World Group?

Perhaps the early exits of Roddick and Bob and Mike Bryan from the Aussie Open gave them a slight edge in preparing for the indoor clay that awaits them in Vienna. It’s simply a shame that they even face such a challenge.

Then there is Fed Cup, charter members of the tennis witness protection program. The U.S. won today, beating Germany in San Diego, but unless you read the fine print of your sports section or cruise a tennis blog (thank you who do), you will never know.

The competition persists, despite the absurdity of Maria Sharapova representing Russia. (I admire her game but still await Sharapova’s first “Thank You” to the United States, the sole reason for her success and wealth).

Lindsay Davenport’s comeback included Fed Cup and she righted a stunning Day 1 loss with an easy victory over a German player unheard to me before today. (In fact, both German singles players were mysteries. Sad that Anna-Lena Groenefeld, not long ago a Top 20 player, has slid to where she only played doubles.)

Where is U.S. women’s tennis? Without the Venus Williams and sister Serena, the team needed a mom out of retirement and a player ranked 74, 22-year-old Ashley Harkleroad. But Harkleroad, a teen hope that fizzled, says she is getting better as she gets older. The US women need such a player.

Now the. women face a match with Russia … and Sharapova in the spring. The Russian Fed Cup captain, Shamil Tarpischev, also leads Davis Cup and will be on the court Friday when the Russian men host Serbia (Novak Djokovic and Jarko Tipsarevic) in a terrific first round tie.

Here’s what is great about the U.S. Davis Cup title: Mike Bryan answers a question during the Saturday new conference only to have Andy Roddick stop him with a “long answer” quip followed by James Blake’s “wrap it up.”

In the most individual of sports, a true team brought the Davis Cup back to the U.S.

Spend any time around tennis and you quickly weary of talk about agents, fees, sponsor contracts, fees, schedules, fees, empty alphabet organizations and what’s best for me, etc.

Perhaps there has been no better coaching job in sports than that of Patrick McEnroe, who conquered those seemingly insurmountable hurdles in molding this team over seven years.

Roddick was the first anchor, taking the mantle after Andre Agassi left the Cup scene for good. The Bryans had to prove themselves at the Slams before they were on board. Blake’s quick rise after his broken neck in 2004 cemented the last spot that had spun around Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri.

So, those four became a team. A marketing mind dubbed them a “Band of Brothers” and, the obvious motivation aside, it’s spot on.

Roddick has set the tone, placing Davis Cup at a level of importance not seen by the Americans since John McEnroe. He has been the spiritual leader as well as the “clubhouse” force, leading the good-natured hazing of young guns like Donald Young just as Roddick was baptized by Agassi during a 2000 tie.

This win is great for Roddick, who has found the stage where neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal perform.

It’s great for Blake, the arena where his Slam results are meaningless.

And it’s unworldly for the Bryans, twins in body but one in every way. A sideshow elsewhere in the tennis year, doubles shines in Davis Cup and no one has taken better advantage of that than the “excitable boys.”

Finally, think of Patrick. The New York Times compared him to Joe Torre this weekend, a compliment of massive proportion. Like Roddick, Patrick, a champion coach, has found in Davis Cup a niche apart from his brother, the champion player. No one deserves this good fortune more than the younger McEnroe.

Now, here’s what is wrong with tennis: Pete Sampras played an exhibition in Chicago Saturday. Wayne Bryan, a professional host nonpareil, had to beg out of his assignment to get to Portland for his sons’ finest moment.

This is not meant to pick on Pete, I’m sure there were other exo’s featuring top pros this weekend, but why can’t everyone just stop for one weekend?

Can’t everyone just pause and let the Davis Cup final on American soil stand alone?

Since April, it has been known that the Americans had a great chance to host the final? Can’t the game stop for a few days?

When the draw is held Thursday for the Davis Cup final, Patrick McEnroe and the Americans will hope that Andy Roddick plays first.

Patrick has this aligned as perfectly as possible. What he can control, the court surface, is fast, like the lightning surface that aided the Americans in Winston-Salem. This plays right into the strengths of Roddick and James Blake.

Patrick reports from Portland that everyone is healthy. Roddick’s “back”and Mike Bryan’s “elbow”, both of which “flared” in Shanghai, are fine. Let’s just suppose that the Americans were taking no risks about their readiness for this moment.

Recall the theme of this blog—Davis Cup is Roddick’s stage. This is where he doesn’t have to bow before Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. And if Roddick leads off, and gives the US a 1-0 lead, the momentum created and the energy of the crowd will be too much for the Russians to overcome.

Blake won his first-ever opening rubber beating Tommy Robredo in April. But James just doesn’t have the big match or Davis Cup resume of his partners.

If the Russians are to stun the favored Americans, they must hope that Nikolay Davydenko can shake off the swirl around him (which he created by the way). Can he play like the world number 4 and take down the Americans on their favored surface?

It’s hard to imagine the other Russian, be it Igor Andreev, Mikhail Youzhny or Dmitry Tursunov (unlikely that Marat Safin makes a late charge on the white horse), winning a singles match. Thus, the Bryans, who are heavily favored, could clinch the title on Saturday.

As much as I admire Roddick for his dedication to Davis Cup and his willingness to sell tennis in America, it would be a fitting end if the Bryans clinch. Davis Cup Saturdays are the one day each year that belong solely to doubles. It is their biggest stage and no one relishes that more than the Bryans.

And I will feel good for McEnroe the Younger. He has worked diligently over six years to earn the respect of the top players. Now the Americans are a team and they use this stage to expose and train the best of the young to the pro world. There will be 8 top youngsters in Portland this weekend, soaking up what they can from Roddick and Blake.

Try to keep your surroundings quiet as you watch this weekend. Then you can enjoy crowd noise unheard of anywhere else in tennis.

This should be a week for tennis to shine. The U.S. is heavily favored to win its first Davis Cup in 12 years with the final on American soil.

Our Davis Cup team, together for four years, is a cohesive group that clearly likes each other. The public sees that and embraces them.

It’s a great time for tennis in the US and on Sunday I picked up my New York Times and saw this on the front page, “Talk of Efforts to Fix Matches Rattles the Pro Tennis Circuit.”

Front page of the Sunday Times for a sport that can never get a Sports Illustrated cover and it’s about match fixing!

Sorry to spoil the Portland Davis Cup party for a few moments but I find that depressing.

What tennis needs to promote this week is the joy Andy Roddick feels representing his country, the slam dunk point that the Bryans have become (trying to make a strong case as our best DC doubles team ever), the full house we saw in  Winston-Salem and expect to see in Portland comprised of tennis fans from across the country who will scream as they can’t at any other event.

What tennis needs to promote is the scene this weekend. We watch Wimbledon and see reverence. That’s great for one week every summer but reverence doesn’t sell. Raucous, lively crowds sell and Americans would love what Winston-Salem hosted in April. Every indication is that Portland will feature the same.

One other offshoot of the Times story: it can’t help the Russian mood. Although the story had no new information, it placed Nikolay Davydenko and his problems on the highest media stage we offer. He is guilty of nothing yet, but very few in the game think him completely clean. His game has stumbled since the Open. Nothing leads us to believe it can correct itself and this story won’t help.

A preview of the tie will be offered here by Thursday.