Isner up two sets but Ward has bounced back to level it, now into the fifth set. Ward hung tough after critical let cord in second set tiebreak which fell USA’s way but had it not Ward would have been up 5-2 instead it was 4-3. Ward lost four points in a row to lose the second set.
DY was getting smoked by Murray for two sets then suddenly came to life in the third. DY forced a fourth set but Murray settled down and finished the job.
Kokkinakis came from two sets down to beat Rosol in Ostrava.
Simon nipped Struff in the marathon five setter 9-7 in the fifth. Monfils now tangling with Kohlschreiber.
Serbia up 2-0 on Croatia, Djokovic won as did Troicki who came back to beat Coric in five sets.
Switzerland, without Fedrinka, won the first match vs. Belgium with Henri Laksonnen coming back from two sets down to beat Bemelmans.
Brazil vs. Argentina also under way.
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bjk · March 7, 2015 at 9:04 am
Isner and Young? Johnson would put away Ward, no sweat. Johnson beat Isner in Washington. And Querrey and Sock have more confidence than Isner. So that’s three guys who are probably better picks. Two losses in a row for Courier (unless a miracle happens) doesn’t make for a great start.
Scoop Malinowski · March 7, 2015 at 9:23 am
But bjk, Querrey is doing some kind of dating reality show and his confidence is low now after the choke loss to Nishikori in Memphis and his last Davis Cup choke last year vs. Ward. No way Capn Courier takes a risk with Querrey for this tie. I think Johnson deserved a shot but understand the selection of DY and Isner. There’s no way of knowing how Johnson handles the unique pressure of Davis Cup. I like Johnson a lot but remember it took Johnson a long time to get his first win at a major.
bjk · March 7, 2015 at 10:16 am
Does Isner even want to be there? He’s got 360 points to defend at IW. No upside to playing James Ward in grueling five set match. Querrey is going to have a big year this year, mowing through all those wins in California challengers sets him up with a nice cushion of points. Losing to Nishikori is nothing to worry about.
Andrew Miller · March 7, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Bryans won, 1-2 UK. Isner needs to handle Murray. If I were Isner I’d watch some Isner highlights on youtube. DY needs to have a plan for a confidant Ward, who has no trouble downing a giant.
Australia’s Kokkinakis is arriving on time with the Rosol win. Masur looks like a genius playing Kokki and Tomic, and putting Hewitt and Groth on doubles duty. Australia is up 2-1 as Hewitt and Groth lost the dubs.
Brazil up 2-1 with Soares’ heroics. Amazing Bellucci is playing so badly…the guy had a bump at the U.S. Open and then for a little while. Now he is back to inconsistency. My hunch: needs some more doubles play.
Scoop Malinowski · March 7, 2015 at 5:36 pm
Youch, Hewitt and Groth lost from two sets up to clinch the tie. Brutal blown lead, amazing comeback by the Czechs. Didn’t see the match, I wonder if Groth choked. Now it’s gonna be a tough Sunday for Australia, wonder if Hewitt will want to step in for singles, boy would that be a lot of pressure on Hewitt’s back, maybe his last Davis Cup. Bryans are the GOAT, boy were they challenged today, Jamie Murray was amazing, Inglot was great too but he sputtered in that last game with the missed volleys.
Andrew Miller · March 8, 2015 at 8:25 pm
Roddick must come back. If Fish is, so should Roddick. That would put the young players on the defensive knowing an old guy wants their lunch money.
Andrew Miller · March 8, 2015 at 8:30 pm
2 Isner losses…maybe he does what Gstob says. Think Isner needs Gstob, Agassi and Reyes to get together. Agassi could be in on it but in a way he is out of sight, like Verdasco with Reyes during Verdasco’s 2009 campaign. That was he doesnt put the attention on himself and helps a player he appreciates in Isner. Far more than Sampras agassi wants team usa to do good and especially players that havent hit their potential and have things you cant teach like size or eye hand coordination. Agassi probably stays away from Harrison out of respect for Doyle and Roddick. But if agassi wants to help Isner when he needs it most, he better call Gstob and bring Isner to Vegas. Not far from Indian wells either.
Andrew Miller · March 8, 2015 at 8:35 pm
Johnson would have had hands full with murray. Dy or Johnson…both hard pressed to find an answer to Murray. But now for the next matches id say yeah, suit up dy and johnson or sock and let then get some experience. Pair Harrison with dy for doubles or dy and sock. Courier now has a shot at giving players some davis cup time in important but not quite as hard – high pressure competition but not against say nadal or murray or djokovic.
Dan Markowitz · March 9, 2015 at 8:55 am
Interesting story in Times recently about Mardy Fish making comeback start in Indy Wells. Says he’s been playing pretty well in practice and will play Miami as well. He has like 9 events he can get in through his protected ranking and said he wants to play US Open again and possibly Australia.
Says still on anxiety medication, but took a solo cross country air trip recently and that was a good sign. After watching the ever-plodding Izzie play Andy in Scotland over the weekend, be good to see the all around talents and personality of Fish back again.
Dan Markowitz · March 9, 2015 at 9:01 am
See 17 year old Taylor Fritz is playing in the men’s qualis. His father, Guy, was the coach of College of the Desert, a nearby institution, so Taylor is very psyched. I will probably not be out there until Thursday so will miss qualis.
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2015 at 10:27 am
How about Marion Bartoli hinting about a comeback? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Looking forward to Fish’s return to tennis, curious to see how he plays. He was top ten in the world the last time we saw him at full strength.
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2015 at 10:28 am
Dan try to get a look at Fritz, he’s highly regarded by the tennis insiders.
Andrew Miller · March 9, 2015 at 1:45 pm
Bartoli padding the 401k !
Scoop Malinowski · March 9, 2015 at 5:19 pm
Bartoli retirement was very surprising. Just the same week she announced retirement, she did an interview and was talking about how hard she was training and looking forward to playing that tournament and also the next tournament, think it was New Haven. Then all the sudden she announced her retirement a day or two later. Then she said how the travel schedule was so difficult, but then soon after she signed on as a TV commentator. Go figure.
Andrew Miller · March 9, 2015 at 9:43 pm
Bartoli gotta work, it is about the cash.
Gaurang · March 10, 2015 at 3:25 am
I hope to see Fish play well again. But, having spent so much time outside, and still on anxiety medication — will he able to get back to even close to where he was? I doubt it, but I sure hope so he does it.
Scoop Malinowski · March 10, 2015 at 8:32 am
And Bartoli is too young to retire, she has too much game to be sitting on the sidelines twiddling her thumbs. Great players in their prime need to play ball. Go Bartoli.
Andrew Miller · March 10, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Fish and doubles. Maybe stick with dubs. Condition forced him off tour. No need to mount a comeback. Just say goodbye to fans . Fish got to a wtf , owes no one anything but a wave to acknowledge the sport andlet the fans applaud him.
Scoop Malinowski · March 10, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Fish is younger than Haas and Fed, he can still be a force in top 50. He has a smooth easy game. If his fitness permits him to battle and grind he can still win plenty of matches.
Andrew Miller · March 10, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Fish & heart problems – his condition wasn’t normal, he was experiencing panic attacks and breakdowns. Haas and Federer don’t have Fish’ heart condition.
Fish has nothing to prove. All that’s needed is a wave to the crowd, everyone will appreciate it and send Mardy off to his next career.
There’s a doctor at Tennis-Prose, who is it Gaurang? Maybe they can explain Fish’ heart condition.
Scoop Malinowski · March 10, 2015 at 9:56 pm
If Fish is competing at singles again I would have to be a slight bit suspect on the so-called heart problems and anxiety attacks. Why risk it?
Harold · March 10, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Fish gets Harry in the first round. Who got the good draw in that one?
Scoop Malinowski · March 10, 2015 at 11:03 pm
Harry is hot right now, gotta favor Rhyno. Tough loss by Donaldson in quails to Duckworth. Larcher De Brito lost 46 in third to Rodina. Iron Mike Russelled young Zverev 62 in third. Fed vs. Janowicz second round looks good. As does Baghdatis vs. Djokovic. Groth vs. Gulbis. Sock returns. This tournament has the feel of a grand slam almost. Almost.
Gaurang · March 11, 2015 at 6:06 am
Andrew, me no doctor! 🙂
Scoop Malinowski · March 11, 2015 at 8:57 am
Andrew probably means the distinguished Dr. Gustarhymes who is the brother of noted tennis prose observer and Rafa supporter Tom Michael. Dr. Gustahymes disappeared ever since he suggested Rafa was faking his knee injury about two years ago.
Bryan · March 14, 2015 at 4:21 pm
“Does Isner even want to be there? He’s got 360 points to defend at IW. No upside to playing James Ward in grueling five set match.”
Agree with BJK. Davis Cup wouldn’t do anything for Isner’s ranking but going deep at Indian Wells is key. Frankly I think it’s lame Davis Cup ran right up to IW, where almost every top pro wants to establish their hard court momentum for the season.