Roddick Leads U.S. in Davis Cup, Sets Sights on ATP San Jose

Posted on February 10, 2004

U.S. Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick leads the pack in San Jose

Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi lead an all-American dream cast at the Siebel Open in San Jose, featuring fellow seeds Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent, Robby Ginepri, Vince Spadea, James Blake, and the only non-American seed (but U.S. resident) in Wayne Ferrera. Unseeded Americans in the draw are veteran Todd Martin, Paul Goldstein, wildcard Robert Kendrick, Brian Vahaly, and Jan-Michael Gambill, while other un-seeds of note are wildcard Tommy Haas, who didn't play a match in 2003 after shoulder surgery, and Swede Joachim Johansson, straight from his Davis Cup monster-upset over the defending champion Aussies. First round match-ups of note are Joachim "I Date Lleyton's Sister" Johansson vs. former German force Nicolas Kiefer, (4)Dent vs. Goldstein in an all-American, (6)Spadea vs. (WC)Haas (German leads the career head-to-head 2-0), (8)Ferreira vs. Gambill (Ferreira has won all three encounters, all in three sets), and (2)Agassi vs. Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze (who beat Agassi in 2001 at Shanghai). Look for potential quarterfinals featuring Roddick vs. Blake, Dent vs. Ginepri, Spadea vs. Fish, and Agassi vs. Ferreria. The lone champion in the field is the five-time champ Agassi (2003, 1998, 1995, 1993, 1990).

The Monday schedule in San Jose is (WC)Kendrick vs. Burgsmuller, Tursunov vs. (Q)Hippensteel, Moodie vs. T.Martin, (8)Ferreira vs. Gambill, (4)Dent vs. Goldstein in an all-American, and Brad Gilbert vs. Michael Chang in a charity exhibition.

A hodgepodge of Euro talent features this week at the Indesit ATP Milan Indoor, with top-seeded Czech Jiri Novak straight off his Davis Cup loss to Spain, and joined by Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk (straight from the Netherlands win over Canada), Spaniards Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez and Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal straight from their narrow win over the Czechs, Ivan Ljubicic coming from Croatia's loss to France, and Armenian Sargis Sargsian and two-time 2004 tournament winner Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty. Wildcards went to Goran Ivanisevic, making his return from injury in his first event since June 2003 at Queen's; Spanish veteran Alex Corretja, who could be making his final Milan campaign; and Italian homeboy Giorgio Galimberti. First-round matches of interest include (1)Novak vs. "Everyone Loves" Raemon Sluiter, (3)Robredo vs. (WC)Corretja in an all-Spanish affair, (WC)Ivanisevic vs. Ulihrach in a comeback special (Goran leads meetings 7-1), and (6)Nadal vs. "Dr." Ivo Karlovic. A tough draw for the top-seeded Novak, with unseeded Thomas Johansson looming in the second round, while unseeded Nicolas Escude will be a tough second-round tester for the No. 2-seeded Berzerker. In last year's final, the unseeded Verkerk stunned (5)Yevgeny Kafelnikov in three sets. Former champions in the field are Berzerk (2003), Davide Sanguinetti (2002), and Ivanisevic (1996-97).

Monday in Milan will feature (get ready to demand your refund) only the last round of qualifying since many players are travelling from Davis Cup -- Bastl vs. Seppi, Santopadre vs. Braccial, Bohli vs. Vico, Ivo "I Used to Date Hingis" Heuberger vs. Pozzi, and some crappy doubles matches.

The South Americans take to the dirt for the first time on the ATP tour in 2004 this week at the Bellsouth Open by Rosen in Vina del Mar, Chile, where homeboy Nicolas Massu is the top seed, and former No. 1 Marcelo Rios (who is 0-4 in Vina finals) has to sit this one out after his recent surgery. Joining Massu among the seeds are dirt grinders Gustavo Kuerten, Mariano Zabaleta, Gaston Gaudio, homeboy Fernando Gonzalez, Juan Ignacio Chela, Filippo Volandri, and Flavio "Of the Week" Saretta. No real first-round matches are floating our boat besides maybe (4)Gaudio vs. the sickly-talented back-from-injury Frenchman Richard Gasquet, with wildcards going to three Chileans in Adrian Garcia, Guillermo Hormazabal, and Hermes Gamonal. Returning champs in the field are David Sanchez (2003), Gonzalez (2002), and Kuerten (2000).

Monday in Vina del Mar features Gasquet vs. (4)Gaudio, N.Lapentti vs. Acasuso, (3)Zabaleta vs. Ferrer, Lisnard vs. (2)Kuerten, and Ramirez-Hidalgo vs. Behrend.

WTA PREVIEW/REVIEW

One WTA stop this week at the Open Gaz de France in Paris, where withdrawals by Serena Williams and Amelie Mauresmo have left this event with two Top 10 players, so now it's looking like a walk for the top-seeded Kim Clijsters since her nemesis Justine Henin-Hardenne is sitting this week out. Clijsters is joined by seeds Elena Dementieva, the resurgent Patty Schnyder, Jelena "I got beat 0 and 1 last week" Dokic, Francesca Schiavone, Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi, Silvia Farina Elia, and Magui "Don't Call Me Maggie" Serna. The top four seeds receive byes in the weak WTA fashion, so the first-round matches are even sleepier than usual, but a few unseeded curiosities abound in Greek striker Eleni Daniilidou who could face Clijsters in the second round, wildcard Alexandra "Dr. A" Stevenson vs. (7)Farina Elia, Mary Pierce against countrywoman Nathalie Dechy, 16-year-old wunderkind Tatiana Golovin vs. (6)Smashnova-Pistolesi, and Daniela "The Walking Stick" Hantuchova against France's Sandrine "Test Tube" Testud, who is playing her first match since 2002 Wimbledon after procreating. In last year's final, (1)Serena Williams d. (3)Amelie Mauresmo 6-3, 6-2.

Monday's main draw matches in Paris are Daniilidou vs. Sanchez Lorenzo, Stevenson vs. Farina Elia, Loit vs. Schiavone, and Pisnik vs. Chladkova.

On Sunday No. 2 seed Lindsay Davenport successfully defended her Tokyo title, rolling past unseeded Magdalena "Don't Call Me Maggie" Maleeva 6-4, 6-1 for her first title of the year, and fourth in Tokyo after winning in 1998, 2001, and last year. It was her first title since winning in Tokyo last year when she defeated Monica Seles in the final.

In the doubles final, the No. 3-seeded Cara Black/Renee Stubbs won their second title on the year after Sydney, roughing up the No. 4-seeded team of Elena Likhovtseva/Maggie Maleeva 6-0, 6-1 in the championship match.

DAVIS CUP WORLD GROUP ROUND-UP

Sweden d. Australia 4-1
The defending champ Aussies are stunned in the first round and sent out to World Group qualifying later in the year. The Swedish veterans take charge with Thomas Enqvist beating Mark Philippoussis on opening day, then Jonas Bjorkman and rookie Joachim Johansson teaming to edge the experienced Wayne Arthurs/Todd Woddbridge in five sets on Saturday, and Bjorkman closing the deal on Sunday with a straight-set win over the hapless Philippoussis. Fire up the media barbie for Flipper. Enqvist won the dead rubber singles over Arthurs in straight sets.

USA d. Austria 5-0
A walk for the U.S. with Robby Ginepri coming from two sets down to beat Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer, and Roddick straight-setting Stefan "Tony" Koubek on Friday, and the Bryan brothers clinching on Saturday with a straight-set beating of Austrian doubles specialists Julian Knowle/Alexander Peya. Roddick and Ginepri both won the dead rubbers on Sunday. The U.S. will now host the upset-minded Swedes in the quarterfinals.

Belarus d. Russia -- 3-2
A monstrous mistake by Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev, taking Marat Safin out of the fifth match and replacing him with Mikhail Youzhny, who loses to the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately Vladimir Voltchkov in straight sets. It was expected that Safin would come out for a routine win against Alexander Shvec on Sunday since Voltchkov had twisted his ankle Friday, retiring in his match, and Saturday he was still on crutches. Perhaps expecting Shvec, Tarpischev inserted Youzhny, but Youzhny appeared so stunned at the sight of Voltchkov able to play that he appeared demoralized during the entire match, crumbling in straight sets. Awesome gamesmanship by Belarus combined with a poor move by the Russians? Even a tired Safin, coming off a straight-sets doubles win the day before, would have likely taken out Voltchkov in straight sets. After the shaky choice of putting Igor Andreev in on day one, and now leaving Safin out of the deciding match on Sunday, you've got to wonder how safe Tarpischev's job is. It's a horrendous result for a Russian team that could have went all the way in 2004.

Argentina d. Morocco 5-0
The Argentine Army blows past Morocco, which went into the match without the injured Younes El Aynaoui, and then after day one they were missing Hicham Arazi with injury. Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian do the work in singles, with Lucas Arnold and Agustin Calleri winning the clinching doubles. Coria beat Tahiri, and Calleri beat El Aarej in the dead rubbers. The Argentines will face Belarus in the quarterfinals.

Switzerland d. Romania 3-2
Team Fed strikes again, coming into hostile territory and winning all three of his matches, on day one beating Victor Hanescu in straights, winning the doubles on Saturday 10-8 in the fourth with Yves Allegro, then on Sunday clinching with a straight set win over Romanian No. 1 Andrei Pavel. Hanescu won the dead rubber over Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

France d. Croatia 4-1
The experienced team of Nicolas Escude/Michael Llodra roll Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic and "Dr." Ivo Karlovic in straight sets Saturday to give France the 2-1 edge, then Arnaud Clement seals it with a four-set win over Ivan Ljubicic on Sunday. "I was really mad losing my serve (in the fourth set), but I kept my cool, played a great tiebreak, which proved to be a decider," said Clement, who won a tie for France for the first time. On Friday, Clement got France off on the right foot with an easy victory over Baby Goran, but Ljubicic evened the tie with a straight-set win over Cup neophyte Thierry Ascione. Escude won the dead rubber Sunday over Dr. Evil. The French will now face Team Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in Switzerland.

Netherlands d. Canada 4-1
With Canada trailing 0-2 going into the Saturday doubles, they caught a break when Dutch doubles specialist Paul Haarhuis injured his shoulder and was forced to retire. In the first Sunday singles, Martin "Berzerker" Verkerk came back from a set down to beat No. 1 Canuck Frank Dancevic and clinch the tie on the red dirt. "I panicked a little at that point because I was playing really well but he was chasing me around the court anyway," said the Berzerker. "Well, maybe it wasn't real panic. But all I could do at that juncture is hope his level would drop." Schalken won the dead rubber over Larose. The Dutch will face Spain in the quarterfinals at Spain on clay.

Spain d Czech Republic 3-2
Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal turned it around after a loss in his opening match Friday and a doubles loss Saturday, on Sunday beating Radek Stepanek 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-3 in the fifth and deciding rubber.

NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Credit Swedish Davis Cup captain Mats Wilander with the upset over the defending champion Aussies, with a deft choice of match-ups and juggling a singles line-up that included three different players in Robin Soderling, Thomas Enqvist and Jonas Bjorkman, the latter providing the key win over the hapless Mark Philippoussis. "I've been working hard since I was 20, and I always prepared myself to play singles and doubles," Bjorkman said. "I felt where the ball was coming almost every time (against Philippoussis). I could read it almost the whole time." So can everyone Flipper plays, apparently...Just months after holding up the Davis Cup as champions in 2003, the Aussies later this year will face being bumped from the World Group (pray you don't draw Brazil on clay)...Argentina will have to travel to Minsk for their quarterfinal Davis Cup match-up against Belarus, where they sure as hell won't find a red claycourt waiting for them; it will likely be a second straight away match on indoor carpet...The flailing, face-making Martin "Berzerk" Verkerk on the mentality of Dutch sports fans: "(They say) you always have to both win and play beautifully in The Netherlands. I think that?s such rubbish. You have to win, that?s all that counts. For all I care I can struggle against a lowly-ranked opponent and throw up on court, but winning is the only thing I care for." Just win baby, he must be a Raiders fan...Dutch doubles specialist Paul Haarhuis will retire for good after re-inuring his shoulder that had earlier required surgery...Where is Pat Cash and the Aussie press in hammering Todd Woodbridge for losing the critical doubles on Saturday with partner Wayne Arthurs against Sweden? Woodbridge dropped his serve five times during the match. Only Mark Philippoussis gets ripped for losing big matches? If Todd didn't drop that doubles on Saturday, you know he would have been out mouthing off about Flipper for dropping the tie on Sunday...The Mohegan Sun Casino paid the USTA a $112,000 site fee for hosting the U.S. vs. Austria Davis Cup match-up. They were the only city interested in the event...Since the U.S. last won the Davis Cup in 1995, U.S. doubles teams had a 7-13 record before the arrival of the Bryan brothers last year...Never before has Australia lost in the first round of the Davis Cup after having won the trophy the year before...Never in the last decade has Sweden failed to win a Davis Cup tie after leading 2-1 going into the final day, and Sunday marked the ninth time they have won from a 2-1 advantage...Swedish D-Cup captain Mats Wilander likes the look of travelling to the U.S. for the quarterfinals: "My early thoughts are that they have a really young team, they haven't won it yet and Andy Roddick hasn't been up there and there's added pressure playing for as big a country as America..."...Andy Roddick broke the world speed serve record Friday, registering a 150 mph serve against Austria's Stefan Koubek, beating the previous record of 149 mph that Roddick held jointly with Greg Rusedski. Keep in the mind, the gun used at Davis Cup in the U.S. was provided by Getronics and not the usual tour IDS gun...Greg Rusedski goes before the doping tribunal in Montreal today, and since the evidence is weighing heavily against him, the British press is speculating his defense team has something big up their collective sleeve...Paradorn Srichaphan withdrew on Friday from San Jose after suffering an ankle injury in his Davis Cup victory against Pakistan...Half of the players (16) at the ATP stop in San Jose are Americans...Great Britain will play Luxembourg in their Davis Cup zonal competition in an attempt to reach the World Group qualifying...Thomas Muster was named as Austria's new Davis Cup captain, replacing Guenter Bresnik, who stepped down after losing the World Group tie against the U.S. Sunday: "I have a young and motivated team, and I hope I can help bring back Austrian tennis to the top," Muster told Austrian state broadcaster ORF. "I think I still have the class and shape to match them once or twice for training purposes." Bresnik was 11-7 in two stints as Austria's captain, from 1992-93 and 1997-2004...France Davis Cup captain Guy Forget went freaky after his win over Croatia, saying his job was in jeopardy and going off on the French Federation: "I felt under pressure...it's something I can't let go. If we had not won the tie, there would have been only one person responsible for it -- me. And this is despite the results I've had. I'm getting hopping mad. There is a campaign against me, against Jean-Claude Massias (the technical national director) and against all those who are on the pitch. I'm not in a personal war against the president of the federation (Christian Bimes). I don't want to be elected (as president), I'm not interested in politics. Christian Bimes won't like what I said." Forget was promptly drug tested after his rant.