THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
France and Roland Garros run over Roddick and U.S.
French to meet Safin-led Russia
Henman, Federer, Malisse, Pavel lead countries
By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net
For all the praise that Andy Roddick received for his 7-0 Davis Cup record going into the US's tie against France at Roland Garros, it was rarely noted that he never had to face a top-40 player, nor play on a surface on which he is uncomfortable.
Roddick's chicken came home to roost at Roland Garros Sunday when he dropped a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision to Sebastian Grosjean, handing France the tie and a spot in the final. The French will face Russia, which clinched its tie over Argentina via Marat Safin's 7-6, 6-7, 6-0, 6-3 victory over David Nalbandian.
US captain Pat McEnroe praised Roddick for fighting to the end and sticking his game plan -- which was to not back off the ball -- but it was very clear that it was the smaller and quicker Grosjean who was the more mentally tough player on the day. Sure, if the tie had been played on US hard courts you would have had to like Roddick and James Blake chances -- but if Roddick had converted a few critical volleys, been in better shape and served with more authority, he may have been able to score a singles win.
Instead, he lost his fourth straight match at Roland Garros as he was unable to penetrate the inspired Grosjean with his backhand or wear the Frenchman down, despite the fact that Grosjean injured his ankle in the second set.
"I had an enormous desire to win," Grosjean said.
Like he has done so many times in his short career, Roddick suffered a minor injury during the week, complaining of a stiff back.
"He just stayed there mentally the whole time," said Roddick, who only cracked 33 winners to 48 from Grosjean. "I stuck with my game plan. I just didn't execute it well enough. … [My back] is just sore and stiff, and felt really fatigued. I don't know what caused it. I don't think I served my best today. I didn't have the same pop that I did the other day on my serve."
Roddick double-faulted to give Grosjean a 3-2 lead in the fourth set and then swore and chucked his towel to the ground. Grosjean had little trouble closing him out and Roddick walked away while the French carried Seb around Court Centrale.
MCENROE DISSECTS A-ROD'S GAME
"Andy played a much smarter game today," McEnroe said. "He was maybe playing a guy who had more weapons. I thought Grosjean played exceptionally well, especially in the last couple of sets. He served great. He really picked up his serving, which I thought was important for him. He hit some big shots on the run and was explosive.
"Andy missed shots. That's what happens. But you gotta keep going for your shots and you have to keep playing your game. Those things are going to happen. But to me, he still hung in there. He fought well. He continued to play the kind of points he needed to play to win as opposed to getting defensive, as opposed to panicking. I just want him to learn from what went on out there and believe in his game and believe that his game is good enough and can get better. His conditioning needs to get a little better and he needs to get a little stronger physically. He needs to take that up to the next level. If he does that, and I think he will do that, all of a sudden things become a lot easier when you have the weapons that he has. All in all, it's been a productive year for him. The most important thing is that he's improved but, when you get to the level where he is, you have to work harder. He got to where he was in a year pretty quickly. Now players know his game, his weaknesses. He has to improve his strengths."
France is now 7-7 against the US and will go for its second straight title at home against Russia at the end of November. Even though the US has had the two best players on the planet over the past decade -- Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi -- in its stable, the Americans have only one two Cup titles since 1992 and has not won the event since 1995.
McEnroe was later asked how important a factor is the French team's camaraderie. It has to be huge, given that all their significant players showed up the last two years, including Grosjean, Arnaud Clement, Nicolas Escude, Fabrice Santoro, Cedric Pioline and Michael Llodra. In contrast, the US was missing their two best players for this tie and, although an argument can be made for not playing Sampras on clay, Agassi is still by far America's most accomplished clay courter.
"It's a big factor," McEnroe said of the French team's closeness. "It's one of the things that we're working to build and I think we're starting to do that. You gotta have the players and you gotta have players that are versatile, that can play on all surfaces. I think that's a big advantage for the French. … We're gonna be a force that's not gonna be easy to beat on clay. And if we can do that and continue to improve, we're gonna be able to play well on any surface.
French to meet Safin-led Russia
While France is making its third appearance in the final in four years, the Russians have never won the title. They will have to play remarkably well to take out France either in Paris or Marseille. Fortunately for Russia, both Kafelnikov and Safin can play well on any surface save for grass, and it's doubtful the French will go for the green turf with only Escude being a recent factor on the lawns.
Argentine captain Alejandro Gattiger took a decent-sized risk by going with Wimbledon finalist Nalbandian in singles as opposed to Gaston Gaudio, who had stretched Kafelnikov to five sets on Friday.
"To be honest, I didn't expect to play Nalbandian, especially as I have a losing 1-2 record against Gaston and he beat me the last time we played in Hamburg last year," said Safin. "But maybe they thought Nalbandian was a better player on a faster surface and would have had a better chance against me."
It was a tremendous win for Safin, who took out Juan Ignacio Chela on Friday, and lost a six-hour, 10-minute doubles match with Kafelnikov on Saturday. It was perhaps one of the top three wins of the 22-year-old's young career.
"I was very nervous before the match because I wasn't even sure how I would recover from Saturday," said Safin. "But I had a massage yesterday and took some vitamins to prevent myself from cramping and, fortunately for me, I was able to finish the match."
Henman, Federer, Malisse, Pavel lead countries
In some notable Davis Cup World Group Qualifying results, Tim Henman won all three of his matches in leading England to a 3-2 win over Thailand. Tim Henman beat Danai Udomchoke 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; teamed with Miles Maclagan to beat Udomchoke/Paradorn Srichaphan 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 and then won the clincher over the red-hot Srichaphan, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Roger Federer continues to carry Switzerland, as his nation beat Morocco 3-2. First he took out Hicham Arazi 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; then he teamed with George Bastl to defeat Younes El Aynaoui/Karim Alami 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 and then won the clincher over El Aynaoui 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
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Belgium's Xavier Malisse performed well in Harare, when his country took out Zimbabwe 4-1. Malisse beat Wayne Black 7-6, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 and his older brother, Byron, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.
Let's not forget about Romania's Andrei Pavel, who led his nation to a 4-1 win over the Slovak Republic, defeating Karol Kucera 6-0, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 and teaming with Gabriel Trifu to beat Karol Beck/Dominik Hrbaty 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 8-6.
