AMERICA NO LONGER MAJOR DAVIS CUP FORCE

US suffers stinging first-round Davis Cup loss to Croatia

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

When discussing the 103-year history of the Davis Cup, the United States comes quickly to mind because it has been the preeminent nation in the international competition.

In total, the US has appeared in 60 Davis Cup finals and no other country has come close to that figure. The US also leads the world in the number of Davis Cup championships won at 32 with Australia sitting five spots behind with 27 wins.

Nevertheless, in recent years the American Davis Cup dynasty is eroding fast; there's been no cheerful championship celebration since 1995 and in the past three year's the US has lost twice in the first round. The latest time that an American squad suffered a devastating first round loss came this past weekend where a young and inexperienced squad fell 4-1 to Croatia in front of a very biased Croatian crowd in Zagreb.

Make no mistake about it – there was no one who ventured to Zagreb that was at fault – not Captain Patrick McEnroe, not James Blake and Mardy Fish who had the responsibility of representing the US for all the live matches, not Taylor Dent who played the dead fifth rubber and not Robby Ginepri who warmed the bench.
All of these five players, plus coach Jim Courier, went to give their best and did the best they could. The problem is this young squad was simply not ready for primetime. Despite the fact that no one who took part in this first round drubbing was to blame, it didn't ease the pain of McEnroe, who in two years as captain has yet to win a tie out of the country.

"This one hurts more than any of the other ones because I felt we could go all the way this year," McEnroe said. "But there is a thin line between doing that and losing in the first round.

McEnroe knew he would go into battle this year without Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras in the mix, but he was depending on Top 10 entrant Andy Roddick to be the glue to hold the team together. Unfortunately, Roddick, left last month's Australian Open as a semifinalist – his finest showing at a Grand Slam – but also with a serious case of wrist tendinitis.

THREE WINS FOR BLAKE TOO MUCH TO EXPECT
The 24th-ranked Blake came to the tie as the highest ranked player on either side, but expecting him to bring in three points – two in the singles and one in the doubles – was a tall order he was not yet ready to handle. Nevertheless, Ivan Ljubicic, his counterpart on the Croatian team, was the hero of the weekend by doing just that, laying claim to victory in all three matches he played.

Blake did win his opening match against Mario Ancic in straight sets to even the first day of competition at 1-1 after Fish fell to Ljubicic in three sets in the first match played.

It was truly in the doubles that the American effort began to crumble and this would be the one area where fans could be seriously disappointed in the outcome of the match.

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

Blake and Fish led 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, the returning hero of Croatia who has been sidelined since shoulder surgery last May, and Ljubicic 6-3, 6-4 in the encounter. But compliments of a determined Ivanisevic and Ljubicic, the tide turned in the favor of the home team and they recovered to take a 2-1 lead in the tie with a stunning 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-4 doubles win.

After the match, Ivanisevic could not hide his jubilation, saying, "I needed this match. Wimbledon was different. I forgot how to play this kind of match. I was so happy I didn't know what to do, where to go, where to jump. When you beat the USA in doubles from two sets to love down and after 11 months without this type of match, you have to be happy."

After the doubles loss, Blake, who surrendered his serve in the ninth game of the final set, said, "They served great. They kept their heads high. They stayed positive. Goran, I think, got better as the match progressed. He served better than you can expect from someone coming off a layoff."

Ljubicic closed out the tie in the Croatian's favor – earning them a quarterfinal slot against 2000 Davis Cup champions Spain – with a four-set victory over Blake. In the final match, Dent played and lost a 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-6 (12-10) thriller against Mario Ancic, once again indicating that he is very close to pulling away and becoming a true player to contend with in the upper echelon of the game.

For now, the US has to go home, lick their wounds and wait for September when they'll have to play a qualifying round match to earn a spot in the elite 16-country Davis Cup World Group for 2004.

Hopefully, Roddick will be healthy and be able to lead the pack because he does tend to have the ability to be a leader. But it is important that the players, not to mention McEnroe, not go away overly discouraged because that could only hinder, not help, the American's future progress in Davis Cup.

RUSSIA SLIPS BY AS ARGENTINA SWEEPS
In other Davis Cup World Group competition this past weekend, defending champions Russia barely eked out a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic to head into the quarterfinals against Argentina. The Argentines scored an impressive 5-0 win over Germany to keep their Davis Cup campaign alive.

France scored a 4-1 win over Romania to set up a quarterfinal outing against Switzerland, who squeaked out a 3-2 victory over the Netherlands. In the other quarterfinal, Australia will take on Sweden after Sweden struggled to a 3-2 win over Brazil and the Aussies trounced Great Britain 4-1 at home. In actuality, it was a surprise that the British squad – all players who barely get a free pass into satellite events – managed to even get on the scoreboard during the weekend.