UPDATE:  Grand Slam Tennis Tours will be putting a trip together for the tie in Sweden.  We will most likely have two different options, one a tennis only option, the other including tennis plus other excursions.  Details to follow once the actual site is announced. 

The U.S. Davis Cup put on one of its best performances in years this past weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Many had doubts as to whether or not Blake and Roddick would be able to defeat the Spaniards, even on fast indoor hard court, because Blake has had a rough last month and Roddick had to pull out last week in Key Biscayne with a hamstring injury.  However, the two Americans did not lose a set on Friday and completely dominated play.  Blake took down Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; Roddick got off to a bit of a slow start against Fernando Verdasco, but recovered and won 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-4.  One point here is the strategy that Spanish Captain Emilio Sanchez employed, saving their second best player (David Ferrer) for a fifth and deciding match on Sunday, did not work.  Sunday’s reverse singles matches actually turned out to be relatively pointless when the Bryan’s bean Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez in 4 sets in some real exciting doubles action.  On Sunday, Bob Bryan fell to Robredo, and Blake defeated Lopez to make the final count 4-1, in what appeared to be a completely one-sided affair.  However, each match had a defining moment that the American’s grabbed hold of to ensure victory.  For Blake, that moment came in the 3rd set, serving at 5-4, 40-30.  He had been up 5-1 in the set, and up 40-Love  at 5-4.  After a long point, he finally secured the win.  I am not claiming Robredo would have come all the way back and won, but I think everyone in the stands was thinking the same thing – that the longer it went, the worse it would go for Blake (we all know Blake and fifth sets do not get along so well).  Roddick was down a break in the first, but battled his way back and took control.  For the Bryan’s, who were up two sets to love, having lost the third, a loss in the fourth set tiebreaker really would’ve given all the momentum to the Spaniards, but Bryans played a tough, smart breaker and sealed the Spaniards fate. (more…)

UPDATE: Roddick officially announced he intends on playing this weekend. 

So I did ok on my final round picks for the Sony, better than my NCAA bracket ended up anyway.  I did pick Djokavic to take home the title, even though I thought he would beat Ljubicic in the finals, not Canas.  I was also 100% correct on my Women’s final, “look for Serena to take down Henin in an epic final match,” is what I wrote last week.  Wouldn’t you know it, Serena beat Henin in three sets after losing the first 6-0, and coming within a mere inch of losing the match.  Djokavic has firmly established himself as one of the players to beat after a successful first quarter of 2007, during which his ranking has climbed to an all time high of 7th.  His coming out party was really last year at the French, when he made it all the way to the Quarters, so look for him to continue his climb up the rankings during the European claycourt season.  Serena, after bottoming out last year due to injury, finds herself on the brink of the top 10 (no. 11) after her win this week.  She will struggle to win as much on clay, but if she does not finish the season in the top 5, barring any injuries, I will be shocked. (more…)