US First Round Davis Cup Preview
Soon after the completion of the Australian Open, the US will face the Czech Republic if the First Round of the 2007 Davis Cup. The tie will take place in Ostrava, CZE. Unfortunately for the American side, in addition to playing away from home, they will also have to compete on an indoor clay court, in the Czech Arena.
On paper, the Americans have the upper hand. James Blake and Andy Roddick (4th and 6th in the world) have been playing singles for the last four Davis Cup Ties, and are expected to play again, although Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe could always shake things up last minute. The Czechs will counter with youngster Tomas Berdych (13th in the World), however the second singles spot seems more up for grabs. Radek Stepanek is the country’s second best singles player at 19th, however has not represented his country since 2004. If he does not play, someone like Jiri Novak or Tomas Zib will be expected to step up- both are currently ranked outside the top 100. Top doubles team Mike and Bob Bryan should represent the Americans, while the Czech team will be anchored by Martin Damm (currently ranked 9th in doubles) and possibly Berdych, who were successful together in their last Davis Cup doubles match in September against the Netherlands.
So, although it seems like the Americans should be victorious, the biggest wildcard here is clay. Both Roddick and Blake clearly struggle on clay more than any other surface (the US bowed out to Russia in the 2006 Semi-finals 3-2, on indoor clay), and will have to be on top of their game if the Americans want to advance and try to capture their first Davis Cup Championship since 1995. I expect the US to finish on top 3-2, as it should be a close tie that could possibly come down to the final match.
Other Tennis News:
The USTA is going to combine efforts with the Tennis Channel.
Here are Bonnie DeSimone’s Men’s Review and Women’s Review for 2006.
A pregnant Lindsay Davenport, seems reluctant to throw in the towel completely.
December 19th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Ostrava is probably not the sexiest of Czech cities. Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region. Its history and growth have been largely affected by exploitation and further usage of the high quality black coal deposits discovered there, giving the town a look of an industrial city and a nickname of the “steel heart of the republic” Kinda like the pittsburg of Eastern Europe??
Ostrava has a little over 300,000 people and is located only 15 K from the southern tip of Poland. Thats where the good news is if your planning on attending this tie. A short train ride north will take you to Zakopane, Poland’s premier centre of mountain hiking and skiing. Although its local population is only about 30,000, Zakopane is visited by a staggering 2 million tourists a year. Situated in the Nowy Sacz Voivodship, in the southern part of the Podhale region, Zakopane lies at the feet of the Tatra Mountains the only alpine mountain range in this part of Europe. Zakopane lies in big glen between the main Tatra range and Gubalowka Hill.
Zakopane is Poland’s highest town: its municipal region extending from 750 to 1000 m (about 3000 feet) above sea level. The town area includes part of the Polish Tatra, with the highest peak (Mt. Swinica) reaching to 2301 metres. I still have a handmade sweater I bought in the market there 12 years ago. It has a vibrant market and is a very interesting, safe, and friendly town to explore.
Krakow is also within striking distance of Ostrava. (about 2 hr train ride) It is one of the oldest and largest cities of Poland. Krakow is the leading scientific, cultural and artistic centres of Poland, the former residence of the Polish kings and a national capital, considered by many to remain the spiritual heart of Poland due to its history of more than a thousand years. Krakow is also a major centre of local and international tourism, attracting seven million visitors per year. It also has a pretty awesome nightlife, as it is home to many Universities.
If you were thinking about going to the Davis Cup dont forget to TRAVEL BEYOND. Let tennis bring you places you never thought you would go
AC
December 19th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
I have done a couple of trips to Eastern Europe. This is REQUIRED travel!!!! Now, to combine it with some exciting tennis sounds pretty great to me. I will need to find out more abvout this. Is TRAVEL BEYOND another part of a Grand Slam tour, or are you just teasing me??? ps. I want to change my login name—can you help me????
December 19th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
I’ll continue to be the voice of tennis rather than travel…I think this might be a good first round match for the Americans because the chances of them going through an entire Davis Cup without playing a single tie on clay is unlikely. They’ll have to prove they can win one eventually and this is a very winnable match and might give them some confidence that they can win a match on clay away from home in the later rounds against the likes of Spain, Argentina, Russia etc… (although they couldnt play Russia on clay this year, not sure about Spain or Argentina) Berdych isn’t exactly a clay court specialist and whoever they put out there as a #2 will pale in comparison to Roddick and Blake, regardless of the surface. The Bryans are as sure a bet as the Americans have had in doubles since McEnroe/Fleming, I’d expect Roddick and Blake to atleast be able and split the singles. Although watching Roddick on clay as about as painful as it gets. Look for Blake to carry the Americans through.
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:55 pm
No comment re first round Davis Cup tie. Rather, I have some thoughts about the USTA “combining efforts” with the Tennis Channel. Before the USTA strains itself from patting itself on the back, it might want to issue some statements about its plans to make a far more serious, concerted effort to motivate major cable companies like Cablevision to carry TTC. I live in a northern NJ town which years ago awarded its cable franchise to Cablevision. Cablevision has absolutely no interest in exploring offering TTC on any basis. Not in its digital “io” packages, nor in special sports packages. The hi-rise I live in does not permit dish-tv’s. None of the sports bars in a 25-mi. radius carry TTC. OLN/Versus carries Davis Cup…for the moment. ESPN2 has been shut out of televising Roland Garros…or perhaps it didn’t even bother to bid. If the goal is to get more people to watch tennis on tv, wouldn’t a major part of that goal include making sure the tennis broadcast vendor is available to as many viewers as possible? It’s no fun being kept out of the loop.
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
It seems to me now for many years our country has been complaining about our lack of success both on clay and in general. where are the americans? i always hear that/ Or.. what happened to American tennis? First of all as an immigrant and a damn proud American, last i lookedAndy and james both finished the year in the top ten. the Bryan brothers finished number one in the world. the question in mens tennis is not what has happened to the Americans its.. why is roger so frigan good? I mean think about it, the gut lost three times last year and that is the bottom line.. The expectations are always thrown out there by people who don’t truly grasp the difficulty of winning time in and time out. As for clay-we don’t have that many red clay courts in this nation, maybe we simply need more. Also, there needs to be a balance between how we train on the dirt and how many tournies a year americans play on clay. Winning at the highest level is a lot about comfort. It never seems like when Americans play on the dirt they seem comfortable. Comfortable with their movement and shot selection as well, we need more dirt in the states!!!! Can’t wait to hit on the red dirt whith you Shammie, peace and happy new year to all!!
January 3rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
I think one of the key things to remember is that this country in the past has been used to having the elite of the elite in the game of tennis, players that going into the grand slams were favorites to win. Players like Todd Martin, who were solid players, cracked the top 10, and made the finals of multiple grand slams were not celebrated back then and dont have to be celebrated now (players such as Roddick and Blake). Dont get me wrong I love Blake, cant stand Roddick, but neither of them are Sampras, Agassi, Courier, McEnroe, Connors etc and Blake has a few more solid years to go before i’d even compare him to a guy like Martin…Im a big fan of the Bryans, but doubles isnt what it once was and there’s little that’s going to change that. The US has not won a Davis Cup since 1995 I believe it is, if that is not a slip in dominance then Im not sure what is. Yes Federer is amazing, but can you honestly say that back in the 80/90’s guys like Roddick, Lubicic, and Davydenko would be top 5 players? Yes the Americans have two players in the top ten but its more of a reflection of a lull in top quality talent. Your point about red clay is completely 100% spot on, there simply are not enough red clay courts and I honestly dont believe it really matters, the clay court season just is not important enough for Americans to put a huge effort into getting better. 10 months out of the year, every important tournament is either on hard court or a small bit of grass, which Americans tend to thrive much more so on. Blake proved last year at the French he could compete on clay, he simply needs to be more patient and use his athleticism to carry him through.