THE SCOOP: MONDAY, APRIL 12

US to meet Belarus; France will play Spain
Roddick takes two; Lindsay's amazing Amelia over Amelie

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane/Camerawork USA

There were more than a few longtime observers who predicted a Swedish upset of the US at home, an Argentine throttling of Belarus and Roger Federer-led Swiss stymieing of France in the Davis Cup quarters, but they were quite wrong when the dust settled.

Those nations that should have won quarterfinal ties last weekend did so: the US, because they sport the reigning US Open champ in Andy Roddick and the No. 1 doubles team in Bob and Mike Bryan; the French because they are deeper than one-man Switzerland; and Belarus, simply because Max Mirnyi and Vladamir Voltchkov are fair players on slick carpet than any the Argentines that Gustavo Luza flew across the Atlantic.

But there were more than a few minutes on Friday in between Jonas Bjorkman's schooling of Mardy Fish and Roddick's dismantling of Thomas Enqvist that the US' nerves were frayed. But then Roddick let out a war whoop, all-courted Enqvist into the Delray surf and sat confidently by some 12 hours later while his buddies – the Bryans – completely overpowered and outreturned Bjorkman/Thomas Johansson in straight sets.

The jacked-up twins – who were pointedly told by US Captain Pat McEnroe early last year that they needed to raise their level to grab a spot on a team – now appear to be automatic for the third point. They are more mature and accomplished players than they were at this time last year. And every captain loves to go in Sunday with a 2-1 lead on hard court with the likes of Roddick as his closer.

At age 32, Bjorkman simply does not have the legs to play spectacular tennis in three straight, three-out-of-five set matches. He competed remarkably well in the first two sets of his 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-0 loss to Roddick, but there's only so many times you can predictably attack's Andy's backhand and with the way the 21-year-old was serving, Bjorkman needed a career returning day to triumph.

That's a pipe dream when you can barely see your foe's first serve. Just as he did in Connecticut against the Austrians, Roddick stuck it in the Swedes' faces by smoking a world record heater, this time at 152 mph.

Folks, Roddick's new record was posted outdoors on a humid day near the water, not in the arid desert or in the light air of an indoor arena. He may have cracked the most impressive serve ever.

The American boys lapped the arena with the flag, secure in the knowledge that Roddick is 4-0 when in a position to clinch a Davis Cup victory for the US. "I felt great out there in the third set. I wasn't even thinking," said Roddick. "It was like my instincts took over. It just felt amazing. That's as clean as I've felt on the tennis court in a long time ... maybe ever. It's only a handful of times where you feel like whatever shot you're trying is working."

BRING ON BELARUS
So now the US will await the Belarussians in September. In good health, they are the favorites over the "The Beast" and "Double V" on whichever surface they play on. The US caught a huge break when Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian pulled out of Argentina's quarter with injuries and now the North Americans don't have to spend the whole summer worrying about a trip to muddy Buenos Aires clay.

"We've been pretty fortunate the way the draw has worked out." Roddick told Daviscup.com. [Winning it all] is so close, but so far. If we get past Belarus, maybe it will be a little clearer."

Unlike two years ago when PMac's boys had to travel to Roland Garros for the semis and were exposed on clay, the US has a much better chance to reach the final this time. Moreover, they have a very decent shot at winning at all, should McEnroe discover a dependable No. 2 player by December. Who knows, maybe Andre Agassi will do his countrymen a favor and come out and play the last tie. Now that would be a career-ender fitting of a beloved showman.

Forget: We Need to Get in the Spaniards heads
Over in Switzerland, Federer couldn't pull off another miracle by winning the doubles all by himself and was forced to watch Yves Allegro melt down in 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 loss to Nicolas Escudé and Michael Llodra on Saturday. Allegro couldn't get a return in the court and although Federer flew past Arnaud Clement 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 to level the tie at 2-2 on Sunday, Swiss captain Marc Rosset's decision to call upon Michel Kratochvil over Ivo Heuberger went nowhere as Escudé came through as a hero again in 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 victory.

It was the third time in his career that Escudé won a live fifth rubber and although the lanky serve-and-volleyer has been quite shaky in regular tour events, he plays the pressure points quite well when representing his nation. "I think the key to the match was in the head," Escudé said.

France was able to survive this tie without top player Sebastien Grosjean, but will badly need the Skateboard Kid when they travel to Spain to face Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya et al in September.

"We need to win the French Open and not let of the Spaniards win again and hopefully Sebastian will be ready," French captain Guy Forget told Daviscup.com. "Arnaud will be ultra fit and maybe Grosjean will come off the final of Roland Garros. Let's keep our fingers crossed."

Spain beat the Netherlands 4-1, but not without concern. On Saturday the baby pairing of Tommy Robredo and Rafael Nadal went down a 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to Martin Verkerk and John van Lottum. That left it up to Roland Garros champ Juan Carlos Ferrero to close and he has a much more difficult time than he did in the '03 French Open final.

But Ferrero showed superior conditioning and prevailed 6-4, 6-7(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. "Whenever I see Ferrero I get wary because I got my ass kicked at Roland Garros by him, so he is like a nightmare for me," Verkerk said. "This time I wanted to show him that I can beat him and I think I did that today, the only thing I didn't do is win."

Now Spanish captain Jordi Arrese has to decide whether to leave the teenager Nadal at home and brining in a more dependable double competitor such as Alex Corretja or Feliciano Lopez.

"I asked [Nadal] to play doubles here this weekend, but really he is a singles player," Arrese said. "He didn't get to play singles here but he is a great asset to have on the team and as each month goes by he will get better and better. … We are very happy to be playing France because it is important for us to have a home tie. Even though Switzerland has the No. 1 player and are perhaps a better team than France we did not want to play away. We are expecting it to be a very tough."

Lindsay's amazing Amelia over Amelie
If one took a gander at the Amelia Island draw before the tournament began, Lindsay Davenport certainly wouldn't have been one of the top four favorites. But there the determined American was lifting the 40th crown of her career with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Amelie Mauresmo in the final. "I'm stunned and excited," said Davenport. "I didn't expect this because I felt I came in as the huge underdog on clay."

Not a huge underdog, but a substantial one, if you consider that Justine Henin-Hardenne, Serena Williams, Mauresmo and last year's winner, Elena Dementieva, were in the field.

Heck, one could have even put Nadia Petrova ahead of Davenport. But with the green clay playing quick, Davenport did a beautiful job of moving and trusting her strokes. The corners were hers all tournament long and she came away with the incredible hope of challenging for Roland Garros. This is the same woman who said a month ago that she was considering skipping the French all together.

"I know I can still hit the ball as well as many others, but I know my footwork and mobility isn't as good as a lot of the European players," Davenport said. "But I will play at Charleston next week, have three or four weeks off and enter one more tournament before Paris to get myself really ready."

The draw blew open on Friday night, when Serena complained that her surgically repaired left knee was aching and Nadia Petrova dusted her. Then on Saturday, Mauresmo kept the ball high and heavy and leapt past Henin-Hardenne 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-3. Mauresmo – who hadn't played a tournament since the Aussie Open due to a bad back – saved a match point at 4-5 in the second set.

Davenport then sucked up in her semifinal against Petrova. Down a set and 4-2, she won the next seven games while the big Russian ran out of steam in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 defeat.

"After 4-all, I felt like it was difficult to catch her," Petrova said. "She started playing unbelievable tennis, and I was becoming more tired. I felt like I didn't have any more energy."

Here's how it shakes out going into the star-studded Family Circle Cup this week: defending champ Henin-Hardenne said she's just getting over the virus that plagued her at Amelia; Williams' and her sore left knee are questionable; Davenport has the momentum; and Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati both badly need good showings. Mauresmo pulled out of the tournament to give her back another week of rest heading into Fed Cup.

While it appeared after the NASDAQ-100 Open that budding great rivalry between Henin-Hardenne and Serena would quickly take over, the tour showed off a little depth in Amelia. Nothing could be finer for the Family Circle organizers in Carolina come quarterfinal Friday.