The last time the US Davis Cup team played in Delray Beach, Florida – World Tennis Magazine

By Randy Walker

@TenniisPublisher

The US Davis Cup team is confronted with the Czech Republic (the former Czech Republic) in the second round of Davis Cup in the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Florida. It is the second time that the US Davis Cup team has played in Delray Beach, the first time in the quarterfinals of 2004 against Sweden. That draw contained Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers – Bob and Mike Bryan – and was captain by Patrick Mcenroe. I served as the Davis Cup Press Officer of the USTA and documented the USA vs. Sweden tie in an e book that I wrote and published throughout the entire US DA Vis Cup campaign from 2004 called “US Davis Cup Stories -confronted with a Davis Cup -smokie named Rafael Nadal in Sevilla” who is downloaded here ” https://a.co/d/0mu3kji

The article of the US versus Sweden is pronounced below….

The big surprise in the weekend came in Adelaide, Australia, when Sweden shocked Australia with 4-1 as a quarter-finals opponent of the United States. The American and Australian tennis associations were so sure that they would face each other in the quarterfinals that Australia had already publicly announced that the matches would be played in Homebush Bay in the New South Wales Tennis Center – location of the Olympic Tennis Competition of 2000 – while the Olmpian Gamenservations had already made that that used to the Ulmpic Gamenservations that that was used to do that.

The loss of Australia turned out to be the ultimate elixir for the United States. The quarterfinals of Davis Cup were planned to be played from 9-11 April, only five days after the conclusion of the Nasdaq-100 open in Key Biscayne, Fla., Considered the fifth largest tournament in tennis. In view of the fact that Andy Roddick and the Bryan Twins would probably play in the last weekend of the Nasdaq, a 32-hour flight would follow to Sydney, which resulted in a Wednesday in Australia and a day of jet-lagged Full-Procedice, possibly in a grassy parcel, before the start of the tune. Big advantage for Australia.

The Delray Beach Stadium and the tennis center in Delray Beach, Fla., Was selected as the site for the American versus Sweden. So with the loss of Australia, Roddick only had to drive two hours from Key Biscayne to Delray Beach, Florida, after winning the Nasdaq-10000 open in a tough final round struggle over the Guillermo Coria of Argentina.

Roddick said: “Before (Sweden) defeated the Aussies, I was planning to board a plane to Australia last Monday in Miami, arrive in Sydney on Wednesday and play [Lleyton] Hewitt on Friday. Ten minutes from home is a better alternative. “

After being on the sidelines for the tie of Austria, Fish returned to the four -member team for the draw against Sweden, together with the Bryan Brothers and Roddick. Fish and Roddick found their country represented in Delray Beach on Bit Nostalgic, because both had grown up in the area – fishing in Vero Beach, Fla., Only two hours north of Delray Beach, and Roddick in the nearby Boca Raton. During the last year of Roddick ‘and Fish in high school, the two actually lived together in Blanche and Jerry Roddick’s while the two tennis friendliness went to high school together. Fish and Roddick both cited their shared fear of the wrath of Jerry Roddick, their less than desired basketball skills and their dreams about winning university championships, but nothing as big as Davis Cup.

“The thing we joke about was taking full trade fairs to the state of Montana and winning a tennis championship,” said Roddick “I tried to convince them of Nebraska and Mardy tried to convince us of Minnesota. But I don’t remember talking about something so big.”

The Sweden team, called by Captain Mats Wilander, missed one key component, the 21-year-old Joachim Johannson, who was unable to compete in the draw because of shoulder and back problems. In retrospect, the absence of Johansson was paralyzing for the Sweden, because the six-foot six-inch “Swedish Heatball” had just begun to settle as a force on the Tour and beat his first ATP title in Memphis Won-Blake and Fish. Later in the year, after repairing his shoulder and back ailments, Johansson would shock the tennis world by disrupting title defender Roddick in the quarterfinals of the US Open, before he fell to Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-final. The Wilander team would be anchored by Jonas Bjorkman, the man who won three points for Sweden in the Davis Cup final of 1997 against the United States. Former Australian open-finalist Thomas Enqvist, up-and-comer Robin Soderling and 2002 Australian open champion Thomas Johansson, who returned from an injury, completed the Swedish team.

After his childhood friend from Vero Beach and Future Country Western Superstar Jake Owen (then known as Josh Owen), the festivities opened by singing the national anthem, Fish took the court in the opening rubber against Bjorkman. Fish only played his sixth Davis Cup match and his first Davis Cup -Singles Match on American soil, while Bjorkman prevented experiences in 45 earlier Davis Cup matches.

After winning a heavily fought first in the dripping hot and humid conditions, Fish struggled with his serve, movement and a wandering forehand for the more experienced Bjorkman-10 years of fishing senior. Bjorkman lasted four games, Bjorkman passed with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 margin to give Sweden the 1-0 lead.

“I think it is just a lot more at stake,” said Fish of the Difference between the Davis Cup atmosphere and that of the regular tour. “It’s just not yourself. It’s your teammates. It’s the crowd. It’s your country. It is just a different atmosphere. I can’t really describe it.”

Returning to the dressing room, fishing high-fived roddick while he prepared to take the court against Enqvist. “Sorry,” Fish said. Roddick, who reminds his teammate of the Slovakia -similar play of the previous fall with an answer: “You got my back the last time, I’m going to get your back this time.”

With the US down 0-1, Roddick left nothing for chance, a tough first set of Enqvist under the lights in the Delray Beach Tennis Center until even the score on Tie on 1-1 with its 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 victory.

With Joachim Johansson on the sidelines, Bjorkman was linked to Thomas Johansson in the Doubles against the fires of Bryan. The two Sweden had never won a competition on tour as a team in five previous combinations – and that turned out to be against the Bryans. The twins had little trouble getting the Sweden 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to give us the important 2-1 lead.

After almost three years with back-up singles players to go like a double team, Mcenroe was now set up with the Doubles specialists-de Bryan Twins-As his Double Team. Since the United States last won the Davis Cup title in 1995, the US had used different different doublecombinations, which resulted in meager results. The Bryans were now 3-0 like a team and had to lose another set.

“The double point is crucial,” said Mcenroe. “It’s huge to have these guys step up as they’ve done in the last year and rise up not only on the tour but in their davis cup matches. I think it takes a lot of pressure saccs guys mentally. I think that’s made dinnce, who is a big differentence, who is a big differentence, who is a big differentence, who is a big differentence, who is a big differentence, who is a big differentence, who is a big dinning windyerence. A -1 Thing.

On Sunday it was all Roddick, while he bullied, bullied and blistered the game with a 152 km / h serve – breaking his world record set that he had put on Mohegan Sun two months earlier. Bjorkman, known for his return from Serve, actually returned the record of Roddick, just to lose the point and to achieve the draw for the United States. Reclaimating that the last set was ‘orgasmic’, Roddick described his third Setrol as almost perfect. “That is just as clean as I felt on the tennis court in a long time – and maybe ever,” said Roddick. “I mean, it’s just a handful of times in which you feel that the photo you are trying works.”