Fish Named to Davis Cup Team as Dent, Spadea Are Left Aside
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Considering the less-than-impressive tennis played at this U.S. Open by Taylor Dent, Vince Spadea, and Mardy Fish, Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe would have been within his rights to simply flip a coin over the final singles spot for the American team’s semifinal match against Belarus at the end of the month.
Instead, McEnroe made a tactical decision in choosing Fish, the lowest ranked player among the three – though not by much. Fish, 22, won a silver medal in Athens, beating Max Mirnyi, Belarus’s best player, on his way to the final. But he’s lost four out of seven Davis Cup matches, including three out of five in singles.
“They all didn’t play too well here,” McEnroe said at a press conference yesterday as the grounds of the U.S. Open soaked up inch after inch of rain. “I believe in Mardy. I feel like he’s still just scratched the surface of what he is capable of doing. He’s got a lot of game.”
Fish has had a disappointing year, and he was bounced in the second round at the Open by unseeded Michal Tabara of the Czech Republic. Dent and Spadea also lost in the second round to unseeded opponents. McEnroe said Fish’s attacking style of play, and his victory over Mirnyi, helped his cause.
“We need to keep pushing him in what I think is the right direction, which is to get stronger, get tougher,” McEnroe said. “Sometimes he gets a little bit negative on the court, and his feet get flat.”
McEnroe said Fish could crack the Top 10 if he practiced with more intensity – like Andy Roddick – and spent more time improving his conditioning. “The difference between being a guy ranked 20 to 25 and being a guy ranked in the Top 10 is consistency, and I believe that comes from your work ethic,” McEnroe said.
The chosen site for the September 24 match, Charleston, S. C., should also be an advantage for the home team. McEnroe expects the weather to be hot and humid there, as it was in Athens. He said that Belarus’s other player, Vladimir Voltchkov, didn’t enjoy the Athens heat very much. Also, the hard courts in Charleston are slow. Both Voltchkov and Mirnyi, who serves and volleys, prefer fast surfaces. The two will play doubles together.
“If they’re going to beat us, they’re going to have to work awfully hard to do it,” McEnroe said. Roddick is 12-3 in Davis Cup and the Bryan brothers have won all three of their doubles matches.
Scoville Jenkins, the national boys champ, will join the squad as a practice partner. McEnroe said he might take another junior player along, too.
If the United States wins, it will either host France or play on the road against Spain in the final. The U.S. has won a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but hasn’t won since 1995.