Spain Hammers U.S. 2-0; McEnroe Show Cancelled

The win followed Carlos Moya's 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 defeat of American Mardy Fish, putting Spain up 2-0 in the tie with one win needed of the one remaining doubles and two singles.

On Saturday American twins Bob and Mike Bryan will try and keep their team in the mix, coming in as the favorites against the (scheduled) team of Nadal and countryman Tommy Robredo. Nadal in singles was the last-minute substitute for Juan Carlos Ferrero, who the clique of coaches pulled after the former No. 1 was unable to adequately practice with a blister on his hand.

Moya started slow in the first match with Fish breaking serve in the opening set for a 3-0 lead, but the Spaniard soon steadied his play and ended up breaking the American's serve twice in each of the three sets.

"I was playing much less aggressively than usual...to be honest I did not feel very much danger," said Moya, who nonetheless has to contend with Fish's heavy ground game in the opening set. "I knew, sooner or later it would change. If he was able to play that level for the whole match, best of five sets on clay, that would be unbelievable."

The clay-challenged Fish, making only his second appearance on the dirt for 2004, was a controversial selection by U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe, and was generally regarded as a free point for the Spaniards on day one. If Pat Mac thought Fish's 2-1 career record versus Moya (all on hardcourt) would somehow magically translate to clay, the Spaniards were quick to point out the fallacy.

"This was a point we were counting on," Moya said. "I prepared a lot mentally over the last two months to start the tie 1-0...I didn't do anything really spectacular but I played a solid match. That's what I needed today to beat him."

Fish saw only three break points over the three sets, and ended his serving campaign with five aces and six double faults.

Roddick started strong against Nadal, but the claycourt's physical if not mental effect on Roddick's serve was evident, with only one ace through his first three service games, and plenty of punchy returns by the Spaniard. Also not lost on the American was the deafening roar from the record-setting crowd.

"It was crazy. You know, it was unlike anything I've experienced before," Roddick said. "Obviously, emotionally I'm pretty down -- I wanted to get one for the team...I just ran into a guy today that was too good. I gave it everything I had. It just wasn't enough on the day."

Roddick has been working with U.S. coach Pat Mac in getting more time at the net, which was evident in the American's frequent forays Friday.

"I had to do something to try to win points," Roddick said. "I felt like I stuck to the game plan and I volleyed pretty well today. I just ran into someone who played too well. Every once in a while people come along and they're big match players."

At one-set all in the third-set tiebreak the 18-year-old Nadal saved a set point before taking the set with a searing backhand pass. Nadal then ran over a deflated Roddick in the fourth.

"It's very emotional," Nadal said. "The first set was very important. I had some bad luck and missed lots of break chances but in the fourth set, it all came together."

The Spanish teen said he was exhausted after the match, with one night to recover before partnering with Robredo against the Bryan twins.

If the Bryans post a win on Saturday and Roddick opens with a win on Sunday to force a fifth match, U.S. captain Pat Mac will have an agonizing decision. The choice would be another go for the clay-challenged Fish, or to substitute baseline grinder Vince Spadea, who last year was a semifinalist on clay at the Masters Series-Monte Carlo.

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Bob Bryan on doing the chest bump with brother Mike while playing the Masters Series-Madrid in Spain last month: "We did it, and then it was just complete quiet. I mean, we played the best point of our life. In the States, they would have been on their feet. Here we got some boos and some whistles."...Hey ESPN, thanks for buying the Davis Cup rights so you can show SportsCenter re-runs while the Davis Cup matches are being played live. Just give up on tennis and sell your rights to The Tennis Channel...The Guardian from Seville: "(Patrick) McEnroe has obstinately stuck by (Mardy) Fish, who will play the opening singles this morning against Spain's No. 1 Carlos Moya, the 1998 French Open champion. Fish, ranked No. 37 in the world, has apparently not won one practice set since the Americans arrived here and lost the only competitive match he played on clay this year...Independent observers believe that by ignoring (Vince) Spadea the U.S. captain has made a significant error." By "independent observers" you mean inhabitants of the planet Earth?...Should man be forced to watch five hours of tennis via the internet? Oh the humanity...Quarterfinal results Friday at the Senior Masters were John McEnroe d. Mikael Pernfors 7-6(3), 6-4, Jim Courier d. Guy Forget 6-4, 7-6(3), Thomas Muster d. Pat Cash 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 (on a Champions' Tiebreak), and Anders Jarryd d. Richard Krajicek 6-4, 6-1. The semis will be McEnroe vs. Courier and Muster vs. Jarryd...CNBC will cancel John McEnroe's talk show at the end of the year..