Scrolling down the list of ties to be played this weekend over on the Davis Cup’s website is a little disconcerting: The further down you go, the more exciting the match-ups become. This time it’s the relegation ties that look like must-sees. While I want to watch the U.S. in Sweden, I’ll be sorry to miss Hewitt vs. Djokovic in front of a 20,000-strong Belgrade mob scene; Sire Jacket venturing into the Czech Republic, this time in a jacket that's undeniably cool, the Suisse squad's (is there any place to buy one of these?); Tim Henman and Andy Murray teaming together for the final time; and, last but not least, Takao Suzuki of Japan and Victor Hanescu of Romania throwing down in Osaka.
OK, I can live without seeing that last one, but this weekend is more proof, if anyone still needed it, of the underused possibilities of team tennis. Imagine these kinds of match-ups every weekend for, say, three summer months, with the top players on squads representing cities in Europe and the U.S. Not gonna happen, I know, but when you watch the highlights from this weekend’s ties, you’ll see a passion that’s missing from the sport at large. Team spirit is so foreign to tennis that it almost looks insane when it does show up. When a normally reserved tennis player wins a Davis Cup match, you could be forgiven for thinking that he’s just turned stark raving mad.
As tempting as the relegation rounds are, it’s the semifinals—U.S. vs. Sweden; Russia vs. Germany—that count toward the 2007 Cup. Let’s see who’s going to be celebrating, crazy-soccer-style, on Sunday.
U.S. vs. Sweden, Gothenberg (Friday at noon on Versus). Sidenote: The U.S. team has played in this venue three times in Cup semis and finals and lost each time.
First rubber: Andy Roddick vs. Joachim Johansson
He’s only 25, but Johannson already seems like a blast from the past. The 6-foot-6 Swede was last seen retiring at 1-1 in the first round of the Australian Open in January. His career has been one long injury, and he’s been on the bench with a shoulder problem all of 2007.
But Pim Pim is 1-1 lifetime against Roddick, and his win came in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open three years ago. The Swede will obviously be rusty and match-unfit, but this is a slick surface and he can fire aces with the best of them (he hit 51 in a four-set loss to Andre Agassi a few years ago). That said, you have to like Roddick in the end. He played his best tennis of the year at the U.S. Open two weeks ago, and while he prefers a slightly slower hard court, this one won’t do his major weapon, his serve, any harm. It’s also the best chance he’s seen in a while to get back to the Davis Cup final. So, you know, he’ll be into it.
Winner: Roddick
Second rubber: James Blake vs. Thomas Johansson
We come to yet another test of nerve for Blake—his career seems to be nothing but tests of nerve, doesn't it? Now that he’s won a five-setter, he needs to improve his Davis Cup record on the road, where he’s 1-5 in live rubbers (admittedly, some of these have come on his worst surface, clay).
This is as good a chance as any: The American is 2-0 against Johannson, having straight-setted him both times (though they played a 13-11 tiebreaker in Indy this summer). Blake should feel good about the challenge after coming through against Spain in the quarterfinals, and he shouldn’t mind the fast surface; there aren’t many players with a quicker racquet. The key for him is to keep his head up even when things go south and the crowd makes its presence felt.
As for the older Johansson, even at 32 he remains a threat in this setting; he’s 13-10 in Davis Cup singles for his career and is coming off an upset win over David Nalbandian of Argentina in the quarters. If he can stay solid long enough, he’ll give James a chance to get nervous. Will James take it?
Winner: Johansson
Third rubber: Bob and Mike Bryan vs. Simon Aspelin/Jonas Bjorkman
This is when things could get interesting. The Bryans are the No. 1 team in the world and have lost just once in Davis Cup, but this time they’re facing some real competition. Bjorkman is one of the great doubles players of all time and has been on three Cup-winning teams. His partner, Aspelin, is the 13th-ranked doubles player and was part of the team that upset the Bryans in the quarters at the U.S. Open this month. The home crowd and Bjorkman’s experience could make the difference, particularly if the score is 1-1 going in. But I’ll still take the Bryans—they’re own Cup experience is getting pretty long as well, and they’ll be on high alert after that Open loss to Aspelin.
Winner: Bryans
Fourth rubber: Roddick vs. T. Johansson
I can’t help but remember the 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 savaging that Roddick put on Johannson just a few weeks ago at the Open. He played some of the best tennis of his career, but it wasn’t like he really needed to; Roddick is 5-0 against the Swede and has never lost a set to him on hard courts. Once Roddick gets it in his head that he owns you, you’re in trouble—Tommy Robredo, anyone—and he’s the master of clinching ties for the U.S.
Winnder: Roddick
U.S. wins 3-1
We return to Moscow for the other semi, just as, apparently, Marat Safin is returning there after an aborted trip up a mountain. But it’s too late for last year’s Russian Davis Cup hero—he won the clincher in the final—to suit up. Not that his team doesn’t have backup; they’ll send Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Andreev out there Friday, with the possibility of substituting one of two Top 30 players, Dmitry Tursunov or Mikhail Youzhny for the final rubber on Sunday. They’ll also have the home court, where they won the semis and final a year ago.
The Germans are fronted by Tommy Haas, a long-time Cup stalwart; he brings a 19-6 singles record in the competition to this tie, and he single-handedly thrashed the Croats, Ancic and Ljubicic, in the quarters. It’s all on Tommy’s head, though. He’s seconded by Philip Kohlscheiber this time, and in each of the last two years, when Haas has lost the opening match—once to Berdych, and last year to Gasquet—the team has gone on to be eliminated.
Which means he can't lose at all this time: Haas must beat Andreev to start, which is no sure thing on clay in Moscow. The next day, the German doubles team, Pietzschner and Waske, need to upset Tursunov and Youzhny, which seems unlikely, no matter how inexperienced the Russians are on the doubles court.
Even if those two things happen, the Germans will still need another win from Haas on the third day, this time over Davydenko, who just mowed him down at the Open and who's at his best on clay.
It’s too much to ask; the Russians will advance and book their plane tickets to the U.S. for the final.
