Usa Look Forward To Spain

There was no fear in USA team captain Patrick McEnroe’s eyes when he looked ahead to his team’s Davis Cup by BNP Paribas final against Spain in December. The USA hasn’t won a the trophy since 1995 and is likely to be made to play on clay by a Spanish side which could include two former French Open champions in Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya.

“We’d have loved to have played at home but I really look forward to the challenge of going to Spain. When I looked ahead and saw the draw I was excited about going there for the final,” said McEnroe, whose team completed a 4-0 rout over Belarus on Sunday. “We know that they’ve got a great team, one of the best teams in the world, if not the best team, but we’re going to prepare well and give it a shot. I think it will be a tremendous challenge and a tremendous chance to do something amazing. The Bryans have won the French Open; Andy Roddick has won tournaments on clay. When we go there we know we’ve going to have to play great clay court players, but it will be indoors and I think that will help us a little bit, because you can serve pretty big indoors too.”

McEnroe has worked hard to build a strong team ethic amongst his young squad of Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers, and even allowed the team to prepare for their semifinal against Belarus by decamping to Roddick’s lakeside home in Austin, where they mixed training with swimming, jet-skiing and relaxing together. With one eye on the future McEnroe has also mixed in even younger players including teenagers Scott Oudsema (who was ITF World Doubles Champion in juniors last year) and Scoville Jenkins.

McEnroe may be unwilling to break the bonds formed in his settled squad this year but he does have the option of bringing in other singles players who are currently knocking on the door, like Robby Ginepri and Vince Spadea, ahead of the final in Spain.

“I think Mardy took a major step here with his win over Max Mirnyi. I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind about that,” said McEnroe. “There are other guys that are close, like Robby Ginepri and Vince Spadea, who could potentially play for us. I think Mardy has the potential to be there and do it consistently for us.”

Roddick and Fish both chose to play the dead rubbers on Sunday. Roddick beat 18-year-old Belarusian No.3 Alexander Skrypko 64 62 despite suffering from the after effects of a cold. Roddick has been telling friends and team-mates that he is keen to make inroads into John McEnroe’s USA Davis Cup record. McEnroe held a 41-8 singles win-loss record for the USA, while after his win over Skrypko brings Roddick’s up to 10-3.

“There was no reason for me not to play. We’ve had such good support since we got here, today there was a packed house for what was essentially an exhibition, and I felt I owed it to the crowd,” said Roddick. “I’ve made no secret of the fact that Davis Cup has been my priority this year and I’m going to do whatever it takes to give us the best shot. I’m very excited about going to Spain. Clay is not my favourite surface but I’ve only got to play well on it for two days. It’s a big goal and to know that we’re nine sets away from doing that feels pretty good.”

Fish’s match against Andrei Karatchenia had to be abandoned with Fish leading 3-0. The downpour heralded the first squalls of Hurricane Jeanne, the remnants of which were forecast to hit South Carolina on Sunday and Monday.

“It feels right, it feels good to be in the final,” agreed McEnroe. “As I’ve said a number of times my goal was to get us in the mix every year and have a group of guys that you can count on and who are committed. I think we can say with the squad now that we can beat everybody.”