Moya Salivating Over Roddick Match-up; Sampras Says Senior Tour Would Interrupt Sleep

Posted on December 2, 2004

Moya Targets Roddick, Bryans Contemplate Baseline Spaniards for Davis Cup Final

Carlos Moya has lost all three of his tour encounters with Andy Roddick, with each one going the distance in three tight sets.

If Moya has his way, that's the same way their Davis Cup encounter will be -- three sets, but not so tight.

"Roddick has always beaten me on fast courts and in the United States, in what are the best conditions for him," Moya said. "All of that is going to change here, this is the Davis Cup and it is over five sets."

Moya has had numerous opportunities against Roddick, most recently this year in the quarterfinals at Miami where he came back from a set down and was serving for the match before he showed a rare loss of nerve.

"You could say that in two of the matches he beat me in, he won by a miracle," Moya said. "In those matches, I was serving to finish the match and I was within one or two points of beating him. It wasn't to be, but I hope that will change now."

Moya, if you'll recall, was the only player to win a set off Roger Federer at the Masters Cup.

The American Bryan brothers are the anomaly in Seville, with the former French Open champs favored over the girls' 12-and-under baseline-bashing doubles style of Rafael "The Prodigy" Nadal and Tommy "The R." Robredo, who ended the regular season with first-round losses at their final two events.

The Spanish doubles tandem have run hot and cold throughout the year, winning Chennai on hardcourt to begin the year, beating eventual world No. 1s Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor en route to the semifinals at Dubai, reaching the semifinals at the US Open, and in the Davis Cup semifinals beating Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in five sets.

They also lost their first two D-Cup matches of the year, and lost first round at the Athens Olympics.

"I think they're a good team," Mike Bryan said. "They've had some good results recently. They're a different team because they stay back and they're going to hit big groundstrokes. We're used to playing players that serve and volley. So that will be a little different."

Mike says he and brother Bob can't take the match for granted.

"Obviously we've got to be pretty sharp," Mike said. "I think the doubles is big for this tie because Spain is favored in the singles -- it's on clay. I think a big emphasis is going to be on the doubles. I think we're a little favored right now, but it's going to be a tough match...Davis Cup matches, there's a lot of energy, so they're going to be fired up."

Event organizers are hoping that fans won't be too fired up, with American foreign policy figuring in the hiring of approximately 2,000 police, secret police, un-secret police, and private security guards for the weekend event. There will also be airspace restrictions in place for the city of Seville.

"Everything has to be under control down to the last detail -- among other things, we're playing the Americans, after all," said Bruno Pascual, head of event security.

Spanish King Juan Carlos will be in attendance supporting his namesake and teammates, just as he was four years ago in Barcelona when Spain won their lone title.

While fast-court player Mardy Fish is the weak link for the Americans, Juan Carlos Ferrero is the question mark for the Spaniards. The triumvirate of Spanish captains said Wednesday they would not substitute for the former French Open singles champ who is coming off his worst year as a top player.

So far this week Ferrero has remained true to his 2004 form, getting spanked in practice sets by Moya.

(Note to Spanish captains: probably not the best way to buoy Ferrero's confidence is putting him in match situations against the in-form former No. 1 Moya.)

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Speaking to the French newspaper L'Equipe on Wednesday, Pete Sampras played down a return to competitive tennis, saying he has made his cash and enjoys sleeping in: "I'm not at all disappointed about what the sport did for my finances and my name. But I was tired of tennis and it consumed me. I spent so many years getting to the top and then keeping my place as No. 1, and it was very stressful. Throughout my career, I never had one perfectly good night's sleep. When it was all over, I started to sleep fine without any concerns in my head, as I didn't have to think about catching a plane or playing a really hard match the following day. I am still calming things down, and that is why I'm not playing any professional tennis." Then again, this is the same Pete Sampras who said he'd be back to play Wimbledon after his final upset loss, but then hung it up. Here's Sampras on Roger Federer: "He is head and shoulders above everyone else. He is the best athlete around and it's impressive to see him consistently play at a high level without consuming too much energy. There are a lot of similarities with me. We have the same temperament. He seems to play as easily as I did. He can do almost anything with his racket -- I think he can dominate tennis for a long time just like I did."...It has come to our attention that the lovely Meredith Fish, sister of Mardy and employee of The Tennis Channel, is not a fan of our Davis Cup coverage. Sorry, just telling it like it is. We are big fans of Mardy -- on fast surfaces. Tell you what, Mardy wins a match against the Spaniards and you are the first one who can come at us with a steak knife...Why has the U.S. won so few Davis Cup titles over the last 20 years compared to other countries (Sweden) in the World Group? Because Spain is in the final and it is the biggest thing since sliced bull, live on TV in a world-record-setting arena with royalty watching, and the U.S. is in the final and it's -- tape delayed on ESPN. Tanks for the broadcast effort. Why not just skip showing it altogether, and flash the result on the bottom of the screen during a poker rerun?...Bob Bryan on being part of the twin American doubles team with brother Mike: "We got our own cell phones, and we've got our own computers, so we are starting to break apart a little bit. My dad says we share the same toothbrush, but that's not true...The fans like to see the twin element, the brother element. We look alike, we dress alike and it's good for doubles to have a recognizable team. We see this as our meal ticket."...Here's the AP's grasp on the Davis Cup final: "One paper suggested the 'Bryan brothers may be a better bet to win than Roddick' in the best-of-five final." Ya think? Glad you guys are on the case. Keep up that insightful reporting...Gustavo Kuerten is targeting March, right before the claycourt season, for his return from hip surgery...Tennis Australia, under the spotlight for blowing money and not producing much (any?) young talent, has so far said 'no thanks' to an offer by resident blowhard Pat Cash for help: "I have offered my help but, as yet, have not been invited," Cash told FOX Sports Australia. "Oh well, it seems that arrogance and an old boys network at the top level are only slowing the progress down even further. Perhaps they don't like my candidness?" Or the thought of putting an a-hole in a top management position?...Sun Tian Tian and Li Ting, winners of the women's doubles gold in Athens: "Now we have got used to the way international opponents play tennis," Tian Tian said. "For example we didn't know how fast the ball went."...Round Robin results from the Senior Masters Wednesday were Pat Cash d. Henri Leconte 6-4, 6-2, Guy Forget d. Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-4, John McEnroe d. Boris Becker 6-2, 3-0 (retired, muscle pull), and Thomas Muster d. Mikael Pernfors 7-5, 6-4. Scheduled for Thursday are Forget vs. Anders Jarryd, Cash vs. Jim Courier, John McEnroe vs. Richard Krajicek, and Pernfors vs. Michael Stich.