Why the Americans couldn’t advance in Davis Cup

Despite the home court advantage, the absence of Rafael Nadal and the presence of Andy Roddick playing on a surface that complements his big serve the best, the American men failed to advance against the Spaniards in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

While it looked like a shoo-in for the United States to scramble up enough points to get to the semis, it didn’t play out that wayl. In fact, only one point — in doubles — was garnered. Even that event, featuring the dominant force of the Bryan brothers, proved to be somewhat of a bust. The identical duo needed a painstakingly close four sets, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to steal a victory over Marcell Granollers and Fernando Verdasco, who had never previously played doubles together.

Enough bashing the poor men. Let’s look at a few reasons why the boys of the red, white and blue failed to capitalize on the above conditions against the scrappy Spaniards.

1. Leadership: Patrick McEnroe no longer helms the Americans, and it’s Jim “the Rock” Courier in charge these days. He’s the new guy in town, attempting to handle the talent of the mainly veteran squadron including Mardy Fish, the top-ranked American as of late, Andy “the Closer” Roddick and the Bryans. After the event ended, he said, “I’ve inherited a very veteran team and with that comes an easy transition on the one hand, but I’m stepping into an environment as an outsider.” He continued, “This is a learning curve for me and not as much for them. But I really love all our guys.” Couriers laid it out plainly — he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing with his men, but he has the passion to eventually make it work. Alright, Cap’n, there’s always next year, right? Right, except for the fact that Andy isn’t getting any younger….Which leads to the next reason.

2. Physicality. Now, it’s not to say that the Spanish team features any youngsters in their troupe either. In fact, age-wise, all the men are pretty much entering their second careers. The youngest, Granollers, ages a reasonable 25 years. But what captain Albert Costa’s men showed out there at the Frank Erwin Center was the strength required to counter-punch and beat the Americans at their own game and on their own court. They successfully survived — and thrived on — the barrage of serving and pace from the Americans. In fact, the games of David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco thrive on this style of supreme physicality a la Rafa, albeit not quite as successfully. Sure, Mardy’s at his peak after losing weight last year, but Andy’s come off recent injury layoffs, including succumbing to Feliciano Lopez in the third round of Wimbledon. In short, the Spanish men simply proved to be more fit and hungry, leading to reason number three.

3. Mental strength. The Spaniards were hungry and looking to prove that, without Rafa, they could steal the limelight by winning. In reactions gathered upon the tie’s conclusion, this between-the-ears aspect of the game surfaced time and again. Take Fish’s views, for example: “I’ve played five Davis Cup ties in a row in singles and every one has gone at least four hours. I’ve lost three of them and it was really frustrating to lose that one. To play how I’ve played this tie and not come away with a win, it’s pretty tough.” The frustration? Threads of a mental game gone awry. On the subject, world No. 6  Ferrer explained, “It was a question of mentality. It was a very tough match. We won here and very important to us. It’s a victory I’ll never forget.”

Even Courier let us glean what we will from the inability of his men to fight the internal pressure. “We had our chances and we’re up breaks in a lot of sets. This could have easily been 3-0 for us, but credit to the Spaniards—they are great competitors and players and very tough mentally as well and they had a lot of chances they let go, too. They just toughed us out,” he said.

That’s a tough thing for a captain to reveal and maybe, just maybe, he’ll get the shot to return the United States to the winner’s circle, as predecessor McEnroe and his men achieved in ’07.