THE SCOOP: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Can the US rebound from a 2-0 deficit?

By Sandra Harwitt
tennisreporters.net

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

If there's anyone out there that is surprised that the US is trailing France by 2-0 after Friday's first day of Davis Cup semifinal action at Roland Garros, that person must be a cockeyed optimist.

From the outset, this semifinal tie against the reigning Davis Cup champs, to be played at the home of the French Open, was an uphill battle. It certainly became an even bigger climb when recent US Open champ Pete Sampras decided not to show-up and puff out his proud chest to the French. While it is true that Sampras is hardly known as a clay court specialist, just his aura as a 14-time Grand Slam champion would have likely had a psychological effect on the French, making it difficult to dismiss the fact that he let his country down after promising to play Davis Cup all year long.

But we can't spend time worrying about no-show Sampras and have to look at the players who picked up their phone when Captain Patrick McEnroe rang.

Without a doubt, Friday's results tell us something about both young Americans – Andy Roddick and James Blake – who have never before experienced a situation as monumental as having to drive their underdog squad to victory against the favored French team. At least from the first day of action, fans can be left with a somewhat positive feeling about Blake, but a questionable feeling about Roddick.

Roddick opened the semifinal against flashy Arnaud Clement and took the first defeat 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 to put the US behind 1-0 in the tie.

Blake, ending his 5-0-record in Davis Cup, landed on the wrong side of a 6-4, 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 7-5 result to Florida-based Sebastien Grosjean.

RODDICK DOESN'T FIGHT
Here's why you can feel good about Blake and concerned about Roddick.

Blake kept fighting after going two sets down, saving match points to win the third set and force a fourth set, in which he battled valiantly before surrendering. Roddick, however, won the opening set, held five set points in the third set for a possible two-sets-to-one lead over Clement, but folded his tent and totally lost his way in the fourth set.

From what Roddick said after his loss, it was clear he was discouraged about the outcome of his match against Clement.

"I'm extremely disappointed that I lost," Roddick said. "Grand Slams, it's for yourself; it's almost selfish. Here, I'm playing for a whole team and a whole country. It goes a lot deeper."

As for McEnroe, a guy who always sees the cup as half-filled, he tried to advance a positive slant to Roddick's crumble.

"We saw a little bit of Andy's inexperience today," McEnroe said. "He's going to learn from this and become a better player."

While we can allow McEnroe that viewpoint for now, the fact must be raised that Roddick is getting dangerously close to where he won't be able to blame inexperience for failures on the court. Since joining the tour full-time in 2001, Roddick has won five career titles, two this year, has worked his way to the No. 11 ranking and has had some big wins, most notably beating Sampras on two occasions before losing their quarterfinal encounter at the US Open earlier this month.

Roddick matches his unquestionable talent with an enthusiasm and intensity level for the game that is impressive. Nevertheless, the Floridian often forgets that he has a head on his shoulder to help him think his way through matches and too often gets overwhelmed in pressure situations.

CLEMENT IS A DIFFERENT CLASS
The match against Clement was clearly a situation where Roddick gave up control of the proceedings, spoiling his perfect 7-0-career record in Davis Cup. However, let's remember that Clement was the first big-time singles player that Roddick had faced in Davis Cup competition.

Roddick had five chances to take the third set of the match, including four opportunities in the 12th game, but he allowed the Frenchman to escape unscathed and take the lead in the match. Roddick's game became increasingly peppered by errors as the match wore on and by the fourth set, the American was barely a factor in the match.

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

As for Blake, who walked on the court with the heavy burden of knowing his team was already in a hole, it took him to the third set to cut back on numerous unforced errors. Blake cruised to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set before Grosjean mounted a comeback to end the match.

Blake said it was the most disappointed he has ever been in his life and there's no question that he still needs to learn to seize upon golden opportunities. French captain Guy Forget said after the match that the sore-backed Grosjean was tiring in the fourth set and that he got a little lucky. What that means is that Blake had the contest in his hands and let is slip away. But at least he didn't go down quietly.
"Experience prevailed," said McEnroe, after Blake's loss. "But I'm so proud of James, he got himself back in the match, I'm really happy with the way he fought back."

At this point, it would take a major miracle for the Americans to mount a campaign that would place them into the Davis Cup final at the end of November. The US, who has won the Davis Cup 31 times but not since 1995, has not come back from a 2-0 deficit in Davis Cup since the competition changed to the World Cup format in the 1970s.

It might even take something of a minor miracle for the US to still be alive in the tie following Saturday's doubles in which Todd Martin and Mardy Fish are set to go up against Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro. It's hard not to imagine McEnroe tossing and turning through the night tonight, trying to decide whether he goes with his original lineup or substitute Blake in for Fish since the Martin-Blake duo has met with some doubles success, not only in Davis Cup, but scoring the title in Cincinnati last month.

The other thought that comes to mind is if the US manages to win the doubles and keep their chances alive for Sunday's reverse singles is if McEnroe stays with Roddick and Blake, or does he substitute in the 32-year-old Martin for one of those young guns. While that might seem a risky possibility to some, the fact is that if Martin is physically up to a possible five-set match, he brings experience as well as a big heart to what could turn into a critical predicament. And it's hard to ignore that Martin has proven in the past that he can dig deep in that type of do-or-die situation.