U.S. Can’t Look Past Belarus in Davis Cup Semis – Or Can They?

The Andy Roddick-led U.S. team will face surprise winner Belarus in the semifinals of the Davis Cup in September, with a likely contest against Spain on clay in the December final.

It will be difficult for the U.S. squad not to look past Belarus to the final, with few countries able to come in to Spain without getting embarrassed on the red dirt. For now the focus of U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe’s team must be Max “The Beast” Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov, possibly one of the least-imposing semifinal teams in World Group history.

"It's a good match-up," Pat Mac said of the Belarus contest. Good for the U.S., that is. "For them it's huge to get this far. Mirnyi is a big-match player. Voltchkov was a Wimbledon semifinalist and is a streaky player."

Roddick is 2-0 career versus The Beast, and has never faced Voltchkov. Voltchkov has likewise never faced Mardy Fish, who may or may not be the No. 2 singles player for the U.S. five months from now. Fish could not come through with a win this past weekend in his opening singles match against Jonas Bjorkman, lowering his D-Cup record to 1-3, but won a dead rubber match against Thomas Johansson on Sunday. The No. 2 singles spot has always been competitive among the host of U.S. “B”-level players outside the Top 20, including James Blake, Robby Ginepri, Taylor Dent, and now Vince Spadea.

Belarus is a fast-court team, with The Beast crashing the net at every opportunity and Voltchkov growing up on fast indoor courts. One option for U.S. captain Pat Mac would be to put the Belarussians on (gulp!) red clay, taking away their aggressive games and getting in some early practice for the final in Spain (in the likely event that Spain beats France in the semifinals).

While Roddick has yet to make an impact at the French Open, he has won back-to-back titles on the red clay at Houston, and Fish has shown himself adept on the dirt with a win at Slovakia on clay.

Much can change in the five months until the Davis Cup, as was evident in Belarus’ win over Argentina. The Argentine’s path to the Davis Cup final had been paved, with Belarus in the quarters, then hosting the U.S. on clay, then Spain in the final. But that was before injuries to Top 10 players Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, and with scrubs Guillermo Canas and Agustin Calleri filling in at the last minute, Argentina was rolled 5-0 by Belarus.

"For 10 years we struggled for this result, and today's victory was a reward," said Cup-crazy Belarus captain Sergei Teterin after blowing out Argentina.

The choice of surface will be critical for the U.S. against Belarus. U.S. coach Pat Mac almost botched the surface against Sweden, with opposing coach Mats Wilander voicing his surprise at the slow hardcourts, which contributed to the net-rushing Fish’s loss against Bjorkman and his precision passing shots.

Rather than another slow hardcourt, why not send a message to the Spaniards and put Belarus on the red dirt? Roddick and Fish have shown they can serve through the soft stuff, and French Open doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan are virtually a lock against The Beast/Voltchkov.

It’s been nine years since the U.S. has won the Davis Cup, and it would be a giant upset to win in Spain against French Open singles champs Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero. For the young upstart U.S. squad it would be the perfect opportunity to nullify Belarus and at the same time send the Spaniards, who have contested two finals in the last four years, a warning shot – we’re coming into your house, and we’re leaving with the Cup.