Notes on a Draw Sheet

US Davis Cup team in tatters
Todd: pressure of playing 3 matches too much for Blake, Fish
What's ahead for PMac?; Gambill calls for the Bryans

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE SIEBEL OPEN IN SAN JOSE, CALIF. – It can't get much worse for U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe: or can it?

Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras have sworn off Davis Cup; Jan Michael Gambill won't play indoors in Europe; Andy Roddick has tendonitis in his wrist; James Blake has yet to make a major breakthrough and none of PMac's greenhorn threesome of Mardy Fish, Taylor Dent or Robby Ginepri has proven to a big-time player and may never crack the top-50.

The US' 4-1 loss to Croatia in Zagreb was nothing pretty. In fact, it was borderline embarrassing. The US has won more Davis Cups than anybody else, but hasn't won the title since 1995 and had lost in the first round in two of the last three years under PMac. What are US fans to think of the future of a team that in 2004 will likely look much the same?

Todd Martin, who was not chosen for the team because PMac though he was too rusty, says that this team is in a different position than when he started playing in the early '90s.

"That group of young players back were better and more accomplished and there was still John McEnroe picking up the slack and playing doubles, the role I've played the last few years," Martin said. "If they are five percent less than Andre, Pete and Jim [Courier], and I'm 25 percent less than John McEnroe was, that puts us back a little bit. But then again, last year we were in the semis and if by chance we would have played France at home, I think we would have won."

Please spare us the coronation that was given to the mentally erratic Ivan Ljubicic by some analysts. Ljubicic beat Fish in straight sets, teamed with Goran Ivanisevic to take down Blake and then upended Blake 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 to give Croatia an insurmountable 3-1 lead.

"He had the weekend of his life," McEnroe said of Ljubicic, who smashed up 29 aces against Blake, 30 against Fish and added 22 in doubles.

BIG GUNS WOULD HAVE MOWED THEM DOWN
Nothing against Ivan the Not-So-Terrible, but Agassi and Sampras (and maybe Andy) would have eaten his lunch. Ljubicic has mediocre groundies, is not the good of a volleyer, has routine return and last year, had a 3-7 record in third-set breakers.

The somewhat inexperienced Blake was called to lead a team in hostile territory and simply wasn't up to the task. He took out Mario Ancic in straight sets on Friday, but he and Fish gagged their doubles match, blowing a two sets to love lead and losing 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 – the first time since 1965 that's happened to a US doubles duo. Blake said on Wednesday in San Jose that he doesn't get nervous closing out matches, but when he was serving at 4-4 in the fifth, he double faulted and missed two makeable volleys.

Blake also numerous chances against Ljubicic, but lost his head at key moments. He broke serve in the third game of third set but Ljubicic broke back in the eighth game, evening the set at 4-all. He then lost his concentration in the game and fell behind love-40, screaming at a fan: "Put the sign down." In the fourth set, Blake simply couldn't find his rhythm and failed to take advantage of the few returnable Ljubicic second serves that he saw.

Blake says it's not the jitters that keeping him from winning big matches. "It's not nerves. It's not being as comfortable as other guys," he said. "The more you do something the more at ease you feel doing it and at ease with the situation and your emotions."

Todd: pressure of playing 3 matches too much for Blake, Fish
Martin said that Blake and Fish had too much on their shoulders.

"Both he and Mardy knowing and approaching the weekend knowing they were going play three matches, you can't ever fathom what a responsibility that is until you incur it. They both played fairly well, but it was very tough."

What's ahead for PMac?; Gambill calls for the Bryans

Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

Where's McEnroe to go now? He's has a full six months to go before the US plays its relegation tie to stay into the World Group and it's not like he'll have a ton of time to spend with the players, given that all of them have private coaches. He can only hope that Roddick heals, that Blake steps up another level and that Fish or Dent or Ginepri find thinking man's games and become technically sounder. It's a tough spot to be in for PMac, a well-respected, smart guy who knows he needs two star-quality players to be able to win the Cup but who has rarely had one.

Gambill, who chose not to watch the tie because it was "too painful," said that PMac should have chosen Bob and Mike Bryan to play doubles. "I fully support the Bryans getting the call," said Gambill. "We should be able to go to a tie with two good singles players and a proven doubles team."

McEnroe hasn't chosen the Bryans because they have become doubles specialists and he feels he needs a back-up singles player. Bob Bryan knows this, which is why he began playing singles again last week, winning eight matches to take the $50,000 USTA Challenger in Joplin, Missouri. The lefty Bob is a former NCAA singles champ who should have already cracked the top-50. That he and Mike have chosen to spend much of their career playing doubles is not PMac's fault – it's their own. Now it's up to prove they can play competent singles, not on McEnroe to hope one of his singles guys doesn't get injured so he doesn't have to take a huge risk by bringing them along.