I thought Roddick would pull out that first set tiebreak, but Ferrer prevailed; it was close though. And Sam sure did well to steal the first set from Rafa, on clay no less. As I write, Roddick may be about to go up a break in the second set. So the USA are playing well on clay.

Sean,
on time again! Impressive!
I am waiting to see the matches on TV in about an hour. but meanwhile they can be seen on tiny tiny screens:

http://cricketvialaptops.blogspot.com/
http://www.justin.tv/muchodeportestv

live scores:
Spain-US, Arg-RUS
http://ls.daviscup.com/dc/2008/WG/sf/launch.asp?tie=100010173

others:
http://ls.daviscup.com/dc/2008/WG/po/launch.asp?tie=100010748
*********
More links ( consolidated here!):

TV in USA:
VERSUS: starting at 12 ET .(find it from here:
http://affiliate.zap2it.com/channelfinder/versus/

Tennis channel (at night).
TV program for USA and other countries:

http://www.daviscup.com/ties/tvschedule.asp?tie=100010173

Hi Sean! Absolutely delighted right now.Just can’t wait for the Davis Cup matches to start.JMDP,I hope will win his match against Nicole n so will Nalbandian.These matches r going to be another test for Fed. Rafa n his Spanish team are sure winners.

Sean,
why my previous comment does not appear here?

****
Yes, US is playing very well. I am very impressed with Querrey. He might be the real deal for the US. He plays well on hard and clay. For him to come out in his forst DC and win the first set againt the worl no 1, on clay, was just phenomenal. The last set was close too.

I read that the thin air in MAdrid lead to many errors during the practice for the spaniards. So it was a poor choice on Spain’s side. The venue is spectecular and it is a great promotion for MAdrid, but puts lots of pressure on the players. I am glad Rafa was able to win.

Sam has two advantages: his serve,which worls very well he had 7 aces in the first set) and his height that allows him to respond to those shoulder height top spin backhands. I think any of his matches with Rafa will be very close from now on. He has a great game. well-done.

Now Roddick is a break ahead in the second set. He looks comfortable on clay too.

Come on Ferru!

oops, two breaks up! demolition!

And now up a break in the third set: I expect Roddick to level this tie. The doubles is going to count for a lot I think.

I see Nalby managed to pull out that first set; when I was watching Andreev was ahead in the tiebreak. But now Nalby’s up a break in the second set too. Like Sean, I am interested to see how JMDP makes out here.

5-1 Roddick, third set!
Roddick is playing great and Ferru has completely lost the control on his serve. Yes, tomorrow’s doubles should be even more exciting.

I wish they showed the matches on TV in real time.

Ferrus double faults are just too many. I think a million already!

I am watching on that link you posted zola; so presumably you’re seeing this live too. I am not surprised to see Andy doing well. He did well at the USO and the shoulder seemed better. Plus he did well in Rome this year - until his injury in the semi. So he can play on clay.

I see Ferrer is up a break in the 4th now, but he’ll have to serve better if he wants to hold onto it, as it’s not easy to break Roddick’s serve.

Any reason why Roddick should not play well on clay? There seems to be an unconscious supposition that anyone with a huge serve is automatically a non-starter for clay. Non-sequitor, eh? Because Roddick has such a tenacious defence, I should have thought that clay would rather suit him. Of course it is true that he has always spoken disparagingly of his own clay court prowess, or lack of it. I’m not sure if I ever quite believed him, though. It’s an old technique, isn’t it, to put yourself down to pre-empt anyone else doing so.

I don’t think there’s any reason Roddick should not do well on clay; that’s just been what people think, given that his record on clay is not his best, and given that he, himself, makes those sorts of comments you mention. As he showed in Rome this year, he can go deep in a major clay tournament, and had he not gotten injured, who knows? He might’ve beaten Stan and maybe even Novak. He’s won some important Davis Cup matches on clay.

So personally, I am not surprised to see him in a 5th set with Ferrer, and I would definitely not be surprised if he wins it.

Roddick’s consistency is generally undervalued, I think. Plus, when he’s confident, he’s very dangerous against anyone. P-Mac seems to bring out strength and calm in Roddick; they’re a good team.

Go Roddick, make it interesting!!! If he wins Ferrer and US win the doubles, boy the last two rounds will be very exciting. So far it’s being good, I thought it would be a massacre.

On another subject, Fed turn away a 1-4 deficit in the second set and is now serving 5-4. Good to see he regain his belief that he can turn around any score.

Lots of aces in the Nadal-Querrey and Ferrer-Roddick match… is this a fast claycourt?

Buena-Buena Daviiiiiid!!!!

sh….! Ferrer beats Roddick, the fun ends! But Del potro x Davy have started and it could be a great match.

Nalby kept his perfect record defending Argentina. I am dying to see a Nadal x Nalbandian on clay final, the match I am waiting for three years and I hope the real Nalby shows up!

8-6 on the fifth!!!

go FERRER!!!!

it’s all but over for the usa

That was a good win for Ferrer; Roddick gave him all he could handle and really cruised through the 2nd and third sets. But one thing Ferrer has shown again and again is not to count him out until the last point is played. Great match!

I didn’t see the match but the scoreline looks like a classic rope-a-dope to me.

I see JMDP is handling the pressure - and Davydenko - just fine! Nalbandian and JMDP could be a formidable Davis Cup singles team in the final, if they get there.Don’t know much about Calleri / Canas as a doubles team, but maybe Perrota is onto something?

Jane,
congratz for Djoko’s win ( in straights!)

I watched the first two sets of Ferru-Roddick match. Then started watching Rafa-Querrey on TV. I will watch the full ferru-Andy after this one.

Great come back by Ferru to win that match. I was very disappointed by his serve. He had millions of double faults and after the third set I thought he lost the match. But the come back at fourth set was just great.

Sure Roddick can play on clay. But playing in DC against Spain in front of 24000 people is not easy. Both Andy and Sam played great.

Querrey is so impressive against RAfa. He moves well,two handed backhand nuetralizes Rafa’s topspin and comes to the net, uses dropshots. Excellent play. He wins the first set and then breaks RAfa at the beginning of second. Rafa is now back and on serve. Altogether a great match.

I am sure it is disappointing for the US team to be 0-2. But both players gave 100%.Great effort.

@Oleg: Regarding serve speed, the Spanish Tennis Federation had considered holding this event in some other place at sea level, so as air density could slow down serve balls. Madrid is about 650m above the sea. Maybe this factor counts for that.

David has done a great job in the last set. The beautiful Plaza de Toros Monumental de Las Ventas has also made some contribution to the “faena”.

Yeah, it’d be nice to see Serbia (and Britain and Switzerland and Australia) back in the think of things. Thanks zola. Congrats on Spain’s win.

Admittedly I was kind of rooting for the USA today; you know how I like to see the wealth & love spread around! Be nice for the US players to win, since they’ve not won a lot this year individually. And I like Sam more each time I see him play; I really felt Roddick played excellent today too. Just those couple breaks made the difference.

Lynx, Oleg

I think that was a big dispute between the players and the Spanish Tennis Federation. The players wanted somewhere at see level and thought the thin air at Madrid will help the fast serves of US players. They even decided not to take part in any promotions until Munoz ( head of the federation) resigned, but agreed to play in MAdrid. I read yesterday that the Spanish players had difficulty finding their range. So the venue is beautiful, but the altitiude has made this a very fast clay court. Even in the pre-match interviews the players talked about it.

durr - typo: “think” should be “thick” - I wonder if there’s anything Freudian about that slip?

I am glad it was a “fast” clay court, if that’s the case. It leveled the playing field, making the matched tighter and more exciting. I don’t like to see routs generally speaking.

matches, not matched! Can’t type today.

Jane,
It certainly did. Good for the fans, but from the DC point of view, the players wanted to have the court with maximum advantage for them. It was like the US choosing Indian Wells for Davis cup instead of the fast indoor they played on last year.

There are too many good matches for one day. I wish DC was played like a grand slam, suring two weeks and we could watch all these matches.

My regret over the years has been that a talented player like Roddick has been treated very badly by many.He’s a good player and a decent human being.I believ that he can play well on all surfaces .He 4 sure deserves more respect from the people.

Q-
why do people say that aroddick cant play on clay?

gulu:

“My regret over the years has been that a talented player like Roddick has been treated very badly by many.He’s a good player and a decent human being.I believ that he can play well on all surfaces .He 4 sure deserves more respect from the people.”

Thanks ever so much for those kind sentiments regarding Roddick. He’s definitely deserving of more praise and respect in lieu of the crudeness that’s spoken/written about him. I’m a huge Roddick fan and it absolutely pains me to read the comments by so many ’sick’ people here on these threads. Some of them just seem to sit and wait for him to sneeze to express their mindless opinions of what they don’t like about him. What do you call anyone who would would refer to a human being as a ‘donkey”? Mentally deranged!! I don’t like to use the word ‘hate’ in my vocabulary, but from the statements I’ve read here, it’s the only word that’s fitting for the cruel statements written. These people harbor ‘hate’ in their hearts, and most of it pertains to the fact that Roddick is American. Further, what really boils my blood is that those who utter such nonsense, would go to the ends of the earth to defend their fave player if the reverse were to occur. Unfortunately, for Roddick and his few remaining fans who post on this site, which I could count on one hand, these critics who are in the majority, can state whatever they like and are applauded by their cohorts for their mindless, sick utterances. They’re just empty-headed, classless vessels and babbling brooks, who are monomaniacal, epitomize cockalorum and are devoid of any decent, thought word, or action.

It’s amazing that Madrid makes playing difficult for the Spaniards in their own country, but it’s the ideal conditions for the Americans to play — absolutely preposterous and defies all logic.

Sean,
Is there a way to get the players’ post-match interviews?

In response to a question about the althitude, Rafa said it made a very big difference, especially in the return of serve. He was asked if he was surprised by Sam’s performance and he said no. He knew Sam was a good player and had a good clay season.

now onto Ferru-Roddick!

gulu,
I have criticized Roddick. But not for his game.For his occasionaly not-very-nice on-court treatment of the umpire and some younger players. But I think he gives his best and he wants to win. He takes his commitments seriously. Davis cup, presseres, etc. Even losing to Federer very badly in AO and US Open, he went to the press conference and answered all the questions with humor ( that I liked a lot). I think the criticism for his game has been that he relies mostly on his serve. However, he has played great matches on clay and he was the only player this year to defeat the top 3. I also like the fact that he still tries to improve. He recruited Connors and now PMAc. I think it will help him.

For sure, today’s matches were great efforts by both Querrey and Roddick ( Which I am going to watch right now!).

I think Roddick gets that reputation because of Roland Garros; he’s never done well there, and slams are what many tend to remember. Even though Roddick’s won Houston on clay and done well at Rome a couple of times, not to mention some key Davis Cup wins on clay, he still has that non-clay rep. But look how well he pushed Ferrer on clay today!

———————

6-1, 6-4, 6-2: JMDP dispatches Davydenko. Pretty impressive win for a 1st ever Davis Cup match against a very steady player.

They water the courts between each sets, still it starts to dry out by the middle of the set.

each set!

Someone, please tell me I’m not seeing the watered nonsense I’m reading. Is this April fool’s day today? Sure sounds like it to me. Oh no, wait a minute Halloween’s nearly here and the brew is in it’s initial stage. How many broomsticks will be needed?

Sean,

“Argentina v. Russia looks like the better and the closer tie…”

Funny, it was just the opposite. Both of Argentina’s wins were in straight sets, whereas the USA took Spain to 4 sets in the 1st match and 5 sets in the second. Obviously that Roddick vs. Ferrer match could’ve gone either way, too.

That was fun to see the donkey beaten by ferrer. Donkey was crying like a baby to the umpire.

Let us all hope the US team gets a pathetic consolation win tomorrow before Nadal performs the euthanasia of the miserable donkey. It is just not right that the donkey gets a D-cup because the bryans are just unbeatable in doubles. Donkey, your 1 minute of fame is up. Move over - The real champs are on their way!

The reason the matches were even this close is because of that the spannish tennis had foolish people (even worse than roddick) who picked madrid as the venue.

Credit to the US - they didn’t get raped in the bullring, they merely got a kick in the butt

I’m amazed that this persistent drivel is NEVER reprimanded. Utterly unbelievable.

Roddick’s a scrapper. So you can never count him out. On the other hand, he loses surprisingly sometimes. He got beaten at the US Open a few years ago by Joachim Johannsson the Swede when really he was controlling the match. He’s a nervy player, and often seems to get distracted (Johannsson, who was a limited player apart from his serve, was focused throughout; he basically just bided his time, steadily waiting for Roddick to give him a present). It was noticeable when he beat Federer this year that he was absolutely focused; this was probably because of the great respect he has for him. This suggests - logically - that perhaps he ought to take some of his opponents more seriously.

Yes, del Potro’s victory looked impressive on paper, even if Davydenko seems to have lost it somewhat these days. Some people keep asking for del Potro’s credentials. We, however, (the discerning ones), have understood for a little while now that this young man is going to keep scaling the ladder, and he will severely test the very best.

One of the most surprising losses of Roddick’s, for me anyhow, was at Wimbledon in 07 against Gasquet. Roddick was there, he had the match in his hands, and suddenly, Gasquet stormed the Bastille, mainly with his backhand bombs! Tough loss, that one. It’s not like Roddick played badly, but he needed to close it out and Richard just shocked him by hanging on. What’s even more remarkable, in a way, is that the exact reverse happened to Gasquet this year; I couldn’t believe it, when serving for it in the 3rd, another Andy turned things around and snatched the match from Richard’s jaws. To me, it almost seemed like cosmic karma or fate or something weird like that.

I don’t know if Roddick doesn’t take his opponents seriously, but I agree that he’s nervy and when something’s thrown off (bad call, suddenly hot player, etc.) he can lose focus, like many players. When he doesn’t let things rattle him, when he plays within himself, like he did against Gulbis, he can get it done more often than not I’d say.

Does anyone know if Roger Federer will play all of Switzerland’s Davis Cup matches next year?

With Roger and Stan playing each of the ties they would have a real good shot at winning the whole thing in my opinion.

Oleg
Roger usually plays the later rounds because of schedule conflicts.I don’t think he would play all the rounds.
Him and Stan are a good(Golden?)doubles team.

I am still watching Ferru-Roddick ( end of set 4). Very nice match and now that Ferru made a come back, the crowd is really vocal.The arena is amazing.

Well, this is interesting. I don’t believe I’ve given Roddick enough credit. 8-6 in the 5th? He actually played overall a better match than Ferrer judging by the scoreline — just in the wrong places.

He really did perform far better than anyone should have expected of him given the conditions and occasion. Good for him.

Unfortunately, that match was key. Now, in order to win, the visitors will have to beat Nadal.

Querry looked like he played well too, making what looks like a match of it. Nadal would not have panicked in losing the first set to Querry, but it would have given him something to think about. The last time he played on clay was at Roland Garros where he was imperious — he conceded a set to no one. Good effort for the young American.

2-0 is a deficit that is rarely overcome in DC. The visitors have fared better than expected, but 2-0 is 2-0. Anything can happen in Davis Cup, so we’re told, however they know their backs are to the wall.

Ah, but Gasquet has the raw talent to turn it on against anybody at all when the pressure has lifted (unlike Johannsson, who was a grim plodder/bomber). Gasquet had essentially lost against Roddick, so he just relaxed and played like the world beater he has it in him to be.

And I don’t agree that “another Andy turned things around and snatched the match from Richard’s jaws.” Murray didn’t turn anything round - Gasquet just folded when the pressure was on. And if you remember in that match, Gasquet was hugely more impressive in the 2 sets he won than in the 3 Murray won. Once Gasquet was broken, one just knew the match was over. All Murray’s histrionics and geeing up the crowd and so on seemed pretentious to me on that occasion, because it was so obvious that the match, both the winning and the losing parts, was all about Gasquet. Murray wasn’t quite a spectator - he did, for example, have to take advantage of Gasquet’s failure of nerve, and this he did efficiently enough. And I speak as something of a Murray fan, too. But Gasquet was magical for a while. He’s such an irritating character: playing the way he did he would, in my opinion, have had the beating of Nadal in the next round. Except he would have crumbled at the last hurdle, of course.

I meant to say “Gasquet was hugely more impressive in the 2 sets he won than Murray was in the 3 he won”. It’s clearly time for the land of nod.

Maybe: the most exciting set I think I’ve seen from Gasquet (though the ones at Wimbledon come close; he’s great on grass) was that 1st set against Rafa in Toronto this summer. Wow. I was converted, and then he folded. He’s a frustrating one for sure. I’d love to see him pull it all together. Did you hear what Courier said about Gasquet’s forehand this summer, when he was playing Haas at the Open? It was interesting; Courier said that the type of forehand Richard hits calls for impeccable timing and thus when it’s off it’s really off, or something to that effect. Maybe it’s a shot that Gasquet could revise? Maybe it’d take some pressure off his sublime backhand. Anyhow…

I think Murray did turn it around insofar as he served a lot better from that point in the match on. But yes, it took a choke from Richard too. I actually liked the frenzy of the crowd, but you know I go in for that sort of thing. However, that said, by the end even I was tiring of it. At first it was really something though.

Give both Querrey and Roddick credit. Querrey made a match out of what was a pretty impossible situation. Roddick statistically got the better of Ferrer, but 0-2 is 0-2 so Spain gets the credit on the score board. Had Roddick won and the doubles point gone to the U.S. maybe an upset would have been sprung on Sunday.

“I don’t believe I’ve given Roddick enough credit. 8-6 in the 5th? He actually played overall a better match than Ferrer judging by the scoreline — just in the wrong places.”

Roddick should have won that match and he IS a much better player than Ferrer. He’s won 27 titles as opposed to Ferrer’s 8, won a GS and made it to the finals of 4 GS. The problem today was the order of the play. Roddick is accustomed to playing the first rubber — PMac says he becomes very jittery waiting if he has to play second, hence, he’s the lead-off man. It’s easier for him to come out not having to deal with a deficit. The reigning US DC team are great champions and no one can take that away from them, but I suppose it could be argued that they’re undeserving of the title, after all the US has ONLY won Davis Cup 32 times. Let’s see Nadal and Co. win this year’s Cup. Nalby will be waiting for Nadal in Argentina; everyone knows the last 2 months of the year belongs to Nalby.

Grendel..

Joachim Johannsson was not just a big server.. he had a big forehand and a steady backhand. Gulbis reminds me a bit of Johannsson. The height.. tall lanky, big server and big forehand.. except that Gulbis has a two-handed backhand… this guy has beaten the likes of Nadal, Roddick etc.. then Johannsson was plagued with injuries and i guess he had already retired from tennis now.At that time i had thought he would be in top 10.

dear Von,

“Thanks ever so much for those kind sentiments regarding Roddick. He’s definitely deserving of more praise and respect in lieu of the crudeness that’s spoken/written about him. I’m a huge Roddick fan and it absolutely pains me to read the comments by so many ’sick’ people here on these threads. Some of them just seem to sit and wait for him to sneeze to express their mindless opinions of what they don’t like about him. What do you call anyone who would would refer to a human being as a ‘donkey”? Mentally deranged!! I don’t like to use the word ‘hate’ in my vocabulary, but from the statements I’ve read here, it’s the only word that’s fitting for the cruel statements written. These people harbor ‘hate’ in their hearts, and most of it pertains to the fact that Roddick is American. Further, what really boils my blood is that those who utter such nonsense, would go to the ends of the earth to defend their fave player if the reverse were to occur. Unfortunately, for Roddick and his few remaining fans who post on this site, which I could count on one hand, these critics who are in the majority, can state whatever they like and are applauded by their cohorts for their mindless, sick utterances. They’re just empty-headed, classless vessels and babbling brooks, who are monomaniacal, epitomize cockalorum and are devoid of any decent, thought word, or action.”

I.
LOVE.
YOU.

I did not see any matches today but I am not surprised to see Andy put up a great fight. I continue to be surprised by many people (including Sean) who continue to underestimate Roddick in davis cup and on clay in general. He did make it to the Rome semis this year did he not? I believe an unfortunate injury took him out that season.

Continue to fight the good fight Von! I am with you always in spirit. I may not post much nowadays but I appreciate reading you and jane and a few other level headed posters here.

There is such a large difference in tennis analysis between fan blogs and real journalism here-

Sean Randall @ tennis-x
“I won’t spend much time discussion Spain-U.S., as I think the depleted U.S. team without Bob Bryan but with Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey is not going to put fear into the hearts of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, at least not on a red clay court. And hell, Spain might even beat them on a grass court. So barring a Federal Reserve bailout of the U.S. Davis Cup team - don’t laugh, not a 100% impossibility - Spain might not drop a point in this one.”

Bonnie Ford @ ESPN
“It may be time to tone down the ritual drumbeat of criticism about the American men’s performance on clay. The 20-year-old Querrey reconfirmed that he is to be respected on the surface after a good showing last spring in Europe, and Roddick had won four of his five matches on clay this season before a series of injuries limited his playing time.”

Here is the rest of her excellent article.-
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=3598050

The altitude did help, but still, it’s against Spain in Madrid, and Querrey really pushed Nadal, up a set and a break and didn’t go away until the last two games. Roddick put on a good performance as well, it could as easily be 2-0 instead of 0-2.

I don’t see the U.S. coming back, but I am still pretty happy with the way they performed in Madrid. Querrey also showed me that there is a young American player that’s worth watching on tour.

Von:
I know it rankles, especially when they’re senselessly beating up on your fave, but the best way to deal with these people is ignore them. It’s a waste of typing effort stooping to their level by calling them names. Don’t bother reading their drivel, don’t bother responding. They do it to get a rise from the real fans. Why give them the satisfaction?

As the possibility of an Argentina-Spain final is now looming large, with Argentina having home court advantage, it would be folly for Argentina to stick with their beloved clay. The smartest thing would be to pick a HARD COURT. The last time Argentina played at home on hard court? Never, as far as I could tell. But given Nalbandian and Del Potro’s excellence on hard, and it being Nadal’s weakest surface, it seems a no brainer to me. (Having spent some time in Argentina myself, I rarely saw hard courts at all, though I did see a public one in Cordoba.) I doubt they have a stadium with a hard court anywhere. . .

hi everyone,
seems yesterday’s livestream shows the Spain-USA doubles too:

http://www.justin.tv/muchodeportestv

Hi Von ! Glad to know that u r a Roddick fan. I totally disapprove of the insulting remarks about Roddick.And I can assure u that Roddick isn’t a donkey, he’s rather a fine professional tennis player who doesn’t care about his critics.So don’t worry!

The U.S. team has played well and will likely pick up the doubles point. A win yesterday would have made Sunday very interesting. However, when you are a heavy underdog and earn some chances at victory it is hard to complain if the chances don’t all go the underdog’s way. This tie has been better than most thought it would be.

I’d like to say a wholehearted ‘thank you’ for the encouragement and kind sentiments expressed by some of the posters on this site rgarding Roddick — thank you so very, very much. My post will be lengthy, but sad to say, I’m not one that has lived by Shakepeare’s words of “brevity is the soul of wit”. To wit, I will address each and everyone of you individually for placing a rainbow in what were some very dark clouds yesterday for me. To say I’m very surprised, is putting it mildly, to see that some people actually do care, and are aware of the injustices leveled towards Roddick and the American DC Team, but mainly Roddick.

gulu: Thank you both for yesterday and today. You were so fortright and honest in your remarks which gave me courage to speak up. I never forget a kindness. I look forward to interacting with you in the future.

TD(Tam): My friend, thank you so much, and I love you too. You’ve always given me the warm, loving support of another Roddick fan, and have had the courage to speak up regardless of the consequences. My only disappointment, is that your time is limited for posting, but yet, you make the effort in the crucial times to comfort me. You ARE THE VERY BEST.

Lenny: Thank you for putting things into perspective; I really do try to ignore the crude remarks by the ‘haters’ but when they are coming from all directions, and believe me they gang up, it becomes too much and I vent. I don’t like briging myself down to their classless level, but I’m afraid I do at times, with some restraint. If I were to actually say what I feel deep down about the hypocrisy and politicking, my post would surely be relegated to the trash can.

Jimbojones and blah: Thank you very much for your fair assessment of both Sam’s and Andy’s performances. They played very well, and should give themselves a pat on the back for a job well-done. Had it not been for the crowd’s boisterous behavior which unnerved and exasperated Roddick in the final 2 games, I belieive Andy would have won that match. Berdych suffered a similar Spanish uncouth assualt in the MS in Madrid a couple of years ago. The inept umpire, Carlos Ramos, who utterly dislikes the Americans, especially Roddick, should be disciplined for not taking charge of the match and the crowd.

I think the DC Committee should be more astute and strategic in their umpire placement. How could there be neutralty emanating from a Spanish/Hispanic umpire toward a Spanish crowd? It was absolutely ridiculous. People have commented about the USO crowd’s boisterous behavior; it was triple that from the Spanish crowd, but how subtly overlooked by those who love to criticize the Americans.

Again, to all of the aforementioned posters, my heartfelt thanks. The US, in all probability will lose this tie, but they have nothing to be ashamed of, since they represented their country with class and dignity.

Oh brother, how long do we have to listen to this hypocritical crap…somebody pass me a barf bag.

Oh, and by the way, if you are going to spend all of your time attempting to disseminate paragraph after paragraph of useless information on this blog…you might want to occassionally check your facts(say once every summer solstice for starters) Carlos Ramos is from Portugal (which you may not be aware is a different country from Spain). His umpiring the match would be analogous to a Canadian or Brit umpiring
a match here in the states. (I’m sure you be the first person to speak up and complain about that)

Don’t see why anything should bother you, since you had so much fun writing your filthy drivel when Rroddick lost toDdjoko and then the Roddick is a donkey posts.Wwho’s the bigger hypocrite. What happened to your side-kick — she bailed out or riding the broom stick– there’s one for you too..

Von, “injustices leveled towards Roddick and the American DC Team” which would be what?? I didn’t watch either of the matches, so what happened? Was the crowd overly rowdy? Was Andy not getting the calls??

Dan, yup. The US teams win the doubles in fifth, something I didn’t think was possible with Bob Bryan sidelined, but credit to the U.S.

Russia, meanwhile, about to take the doubles as well. Looks like this Sunday will mean something in Davis Cup after all.

Hi TD,

Thanks for posting for the link to Bonnie Ford’s piece; I always like her articles and you’re right to identify them as good journalism. I check ESPN regularly specifically for her writing.

Anyhow, I thought Roddick played excellent. Just a couple of points…right at the end made the difference. Sam continues to improve; he’s got a great persona too. I look forward to following Sam next year. I think that Gils Reyes (sp?) is definitely helping with his fitness / movement.

Hehe, “filthy drivel”, now thats dramatic.
I suggest if you have something to say to anyone else on this board that you say it to them directly. I take responsibility for my own comments only.

It seems pretty clear that your’e not just looking for fair words to be spoken about Roddick…you want everyone to bow to him as if he were some kind of deity. It also seems like your’e trying to use your background in psychology to perform some kind of experiment on this blog to see how much sympathy you can elicit for poor, misunderstood, victimized Roddick.

I suggest you pay more attention to the people like myself who, even though we have been very critical of his behavior, have still managed to compliment him sometimes in one way or another.
The same cannot be said for you in regards to Nadal.

I didn’t know the Spanish crowd was rowdy, but Ford’s piece and others here have mentioned that it threw Roddick off. I watched it on a justin feed and had the sound turned off as it was Spanish commentary. That’s a shame; I hate when crowds intervene in matches - particularly tight down to the wire ones. It’s true, if the crowd if overly loud, the ump should say something, to be fair.

I mean, I know the norm of Davis Cup matches is rowdy and partisan crowds, and that’s fine. But in-between and during crucial points, the umpire should try to quell things somewhat. I didn’t see Djoko’s match against Hrbaty but I guess there was even a Slovakian drummer in the crowd trying to rile Novak, and it worked for a bit in the 3rd set until Novak re-grouped.

It’s certainly up for debate - how much is too much from a crowd, and when should the ump intervene? At the USO, when a player yelled out during Rafa vs. Fish, Fish gave Rafa 1st serve and they kicked the heckler out of the stadium. Other times at the USO umps weren’t so quick to react to noisy fans. But it’s the deliberate heckling at key moments that must be addressed, imo.

Speaking of that Serb-Slovak tie, apparently the Slovak teen Lukas Lacko, yet another 19 year old, is not, er, lacking much, and is someone to watch. He pushed Tipsy deep into a 5th.

Congrats to the US make-shift doubles team. Roddick vs. Nadal will be very interesting; I’d love it if Roddick won and pushed this thing to a decider!

Zola, the altitude definitely helps the Americans, and even moreso if they are big-serving Americans. That said, I’m sure they are extra-watering the courts between sets!

Jane, regarding Roddick, he’s not a clay player nor will he ever be. He can still get a few wins in patches and pick up some smaller titles like Houston against lesser players but against elite claycourts he’s going to lose 90% of the time. And that’s not a knock on him as the same could be said for just about all the American players. So the non-clay rep sticks.

Grendel, I would agree with Tejuz regarding Joachim Johansson. He had some pretty decent groundstrokes to go with his monster serve. Had he avoided injury I’d imagine he’d be among the Top 15 right now.

Its the heckling during the service toss and to a slightly lesser degree during the point that is at issue. Its understood that you can scream your head off at any other time and Davis Cup crowds…because they are more passionate…do that more than regular tour event crowds…I havent seen the end of the DC cup tie singles matches in Spain but I will be the first to say that if the crowd was making noise during the player’s toss that they should have ejected those fans.

Von,my friend ! Thanks 4 such sweet responses to my posts! Lookin forward to more posts from u. Cheers!!!
Hi zola ! I m very happy to know that u hav read my post and perhaps appreciated it. Sorry 4 my late response.I hav a new friend in you now.

Sean:

The altitude halps anyone who’s serving big. It helped Ferrer’s serve and it sure helped Lopez in doubles today.

Jane, it’s not Wimbledon, it’s Davis Cup. The players know that. I’m sure the umps try to calm the crowds but in certain environments it’s almost futile.

Again, i didn’t see the matches but in Davis Cup that’s what can you get: very, very rowdy crowds. I for one actually enjoy it even though the crowds often do impact the outcome. But that’s what Davis Cup atmosphere is all about, and that’s what many will argue, myself included, makes Davis Cup so great.

Sure, sometimes the crowds can go to far but for the most part from what I’ve seen in my days they are pretty civilized.

Sean,

I am not saying Roddcik’s best surface is clay; we all know it’s not. However, Roddick pushed Ferrer to 8-6 in the 5th; Ferrer is rather elite on clay, no? Doesn’t it follow then that Roddick *could* do well on clay, perhaps if he applied himself like some, hiring a special claycourt coach etc? Dunno. He does have a bad RG record, and I think, because it’s a slam, it supersedes the wins he has gotten on clay. He’s been to the quarters and semis in Rome, beating the likes of Robredo and Baggy along the way, so he can’t be all that bad on clay. I am interested to see how the match goes with Rafa tomorrow, if it’ll be close or what. Clearly, Rafa is the overwhelming favorite. But I am still interested to see how Roddick can do against him, with Rafa having home crowd and surface advantage.

I agree with Vulcan about the crowds; if it’s during a service toss, that’s too much, and even really loud yelling out during a point should be discouraged. Between points, the crowd can yell, holler, drum, strip, I don’t care; the more the merrier.

And speaking of Wimbledon, did you see the Murray vs. Gasquet match Sean? Now that was Davis-Cup-like. And I liked it. But for the most part the crowd waited until after the point was played to erupt like an overbaked Yorkshire pudding.

“The same cannot be said for you in regards to Nadal.”

You’ve only been posting here for a maximum of 3 months or less, so how would you know what I’ve said about Nadal? I’ve always lauded praises on him, more than he’s deserved and never criticized him. However, when you and Zola began that nonsense during the Toronto MS, by her pretending to not remember what happenened at the AO between Kohls and Roddick — which is her MO BTW to start any type of debate or bait people; she asks these psuedo-innocent questions — that’s when I decided I’ll point out Nadal’s flaws and I mentioned my reason for so doing. there are several threads where she just babbles on and on, and on, non-stop about Roddick, and there’s a point where enough is enough. I’m surprised that you don’t remember. I can find the post and the thread for you to read everything.Tthere was also a post from Shital Green stating to me that I’ve always praised Nadal much more than he did. Maybe you should know a little history before you speak. I’ve yet to see anything positive written by you regarding Roddick.

Tejuz: yes, I daresay you’re right about Joachim Johansson. In the Roddick match, the American was certainly on top, as I recall, but somehow managed to lose. It is true, poor Johansson suffered dreadfully from injury, came back, beat Nadal as you said, but then succombed to injury again. He has actually retired at a very young age.

What I remember Johansson most for was a terrific tussle with Feliciano Lopez at the A.O. - perhaps 3 or 4 years ago. It went on and on, it was impossible to say who was going to win, and in fact I had to check with my son to recall who actually did win. Because what sticks in the mind is the battle. At the time, it mattered like hell who won. Now, it matters not at all; what remains is the memory of the amazing struggle. It went to something like 16-14, or 14-12, something like that, in the 5th of course.

Oh, and Johansson won. Apparently. Might have been Lopez, though.

Vulcan, Nadal has carved a special niche for himself in the tennis circle by what he has done this year and has been doing since long.He is a great player and his genius need not be certified by anyone and especially by people like me who are not tennis professionals.But Roddick fans certainly will continue to love him and there is no problem in it.Thanks.

Vulcan, Nadal has carved a special niche for himself in the tennis circle by what he has done this year and has been doing since long.He is a great player and his genius need not be certified by anyone and especially by people like me who are not tennis professionals.But Roddick fans certainly will continue to love him and there is no problem in it.Thanks and keep writing.

Jane, yup, David is among the clay elite, but did Roddick win? No. Coming close is great, but winning is the name of the game isn’t it? That said, Andy should get some confidence from it but I don’t think this will necessarily propel him to better clay results in the future. It should help him next time he plays Ferrer, regardless of surface.

And yes, i saw that Gasquet-Murray match. Great atmosphere. Well mannered, well behaved. Definitely Davis Cup-like.

As for tomorrow, I think Andy can scrape a set, but Nadal’s going to win out in the end. I don’t think it will be a blow out.

“It seems pretty clear that your’e not just looking for fair words to be spoken about Roddick…you want everyone to bow to him as if he were some kind of deity.”

I think you’ve got this transposed — this is not relevant to Roddick and myself, but to Nadal and his fanatical fan. Lord help anyone who just mentions his name; an antenna goes up and all reason is swept under the rug. It’s war.