Archive for the 'Andy Roddick' Category

The United States takes on Spain in the next round of the Davis Cup in Winston-Salem, North Carolina beginning April 6. Leading the Davis Cup team for the US in the quarterfinals will be three of the Top Ten ranked players in the world: #3 Andy Roddick, #9 James Blake, and of course the world’s #1 doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan.

Playing for Spain will be Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer, and doubles team Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. Rafael Nadal will not be part of his country’s team this year.

For complete television coverage of the Davis Cup quarterfinals, visit USTA.

Men’s semifinals at Indian Wells features a clash between Spaniard Rafael Nadal and American Andy Roddick–hot, hot, hot!! Second seed Nadal made short work of Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the quarterfinals (7-5, 7-5). Third seed Roddick beat Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in two tough sets that went to tie break (7-6 (7), 7-6 (8)).

I was excited because I was playing the way I wanted to in the breakers. I kept going forward. I won some points. I lost some points. I hit a new little chip short one, that won me a couple points. I was happy with that. I thought all in all, I gave myself a chance to win and eventually was able to do it.”
– Andy Roddick

The other side of the men’s bracket will be Novak Djokovic (12) of Serbia against either Andy Murray (13) of Scotland or Tommy Haas (9) of Germany.

In women’s semifinal action at Indian Wells, second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia defeated 33rd seed Sybille Bammer of Austria (6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1). Daniela Hantuchova, seeded 14th and hailing from Slovakia, overcame Na Li of China who was seeded 12th (7-5, 4-6, 6-1). Hantuchova and Kuznetsova battle tomorrow to see who will wear the ladies’ crown at Indian Wells in 2007.

Andy Roddick defeated Tomas Berdych in Round 4 to give the United States a 3-1 lead, assuring us a slot in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April. In this high-pressure match of two giant players with giant serves, Roddick’s growing confidence finally reigned king (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4)). Roddick is now 8-0 in Davis Cup play.

In the last match, James Blake was scheduled to play Ivo Minar but captain Patrick McEnroe made a last-minute adjustment and substituted Bob Bryan instead. Bryan had no trouble spanking Lukas Dlouhy in two sets in Round 5 to give America the resounding victory over the Czech Republic’s finest (7-6 (5), 6-4).

The US will host Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on April 6 - 8 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the surface is hard court. Hopefully the American team will build on this encouraging triumph to exact revenge on the Spaniards for the defeat we suffered in the 2004 Davis Cup final in Seville. Other World Group winners in the first round were Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Sweden.

The United States and the Czech Republic are locked at 1-1 in the first round of the 2007 Davis Cup. Andy Roddick gave the US an early lead, defeating Ivo Minar 6-4,�4-6,�6-2,�6-3 in Round 1. Roddick’s serve was clearly in control, including a flurry of formidable aces. Though Minar played an aggressive game, Roddick spent just as much time at net and held his confidence throughout. “It was a tough match,” Roddick stated, likely a bit relieved to avoid going to five sets. He faces Tomas Berdych in Round 4.

And speaking of Mr. Berdych, he managed to move the Czech Republic into the tying position in Round 2 with his win against James Blake (6-1,�2-6,�7-5,�7-5). With his country down 1-0, the pressure was clearly on Berdych to perform. And perfom he did. Berdych’s dazzling play left Blake little room to think or breathe. Ace and smash though he might (and gorgeously), Blake’s own frustration with himself outwitted him in the end. Hopefully he can get this out of his system before facing Ivo Minar in Round 5.

Next up are the world number one ranked Bryan brothers in Round 3–Bob and Mike take on Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner in doubles play Saturday. This promises to be an interesting tiebreaker, with two more rounds of world class tennis to follow. Bring it on!

The 2007 Davis Cup kicks off on February 9, sixteen nations vie in a year-long best-of-five match series. Here is the draw for the first round of Davis Cup play:

Chile vs Russia in Chile
France vs Romania in France
Germany vs Croatia in Germany
Belgium vs Australia in Belgium
Czech Republic vs USA in Czech Republic
Switzerland vs Spain in Switzerland
Belarus vs Sweden in Belarus
Austria vs Argentina in Austria

The United States faces off against the Czech Republic; they will play on indoor clay courts at CEZ Arena in Ostrava. Representing the US on the Davis Cup team are world number one doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, world number four Andy Roddick, and world number six James Blake. Patrick McEnroe is the team captain. If the US wins in the first round, they will host Spain or Switzerland in the Quarterfinals round in April. The US currently holds 31 Davis Cup titles, leading all other nations for this honor, though we have not won one since 1995. USTA.com has the full schedule of television coverage posted.

In the men’s draw, Andy Roddick looked to be in near perfect form and showed no mercy to friend Mardy Fish in three sets with only four unforced errors (6-2, 6-2, 6-2). Afterwards they hugged it out. “Today I played pretty flawless,” Roddick stated. “I feel good going into the semis.” He will meet world number one Roger Federer, who beat Tommy Robredo for a slot in the semifinals (6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-5). It’s worth mentioning that Federer lost to Roddick in the final match of an exhibition a couple weeks ago, could be an interesting Grand Slam final.

Tomorrow’s quarterfinal matches: Nikolay Davydenko vs. Tommy Haas, reprising their 2006 U.S. Open quarterfinal, and Rafael Nadal vs. Fernando Gonzalez.

Just a quick note to say — WOW!! Still serving at 137 miles per hour three hours into the match, Andy Roddick played this one like a true powerhouse, beating Croatian Mario Ancic (6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4). After a close call against Roddick at match point, this good sport did not fuss. Instead he played the last point beautifully, causing coach Jimmy Connors to beam with pride in the stands. What a winner. Tomorrow we will post the full report on the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Andy Roddick managed an impressive victory over Marat Safin in third round action, winning 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6. Roddick attributes his inspiration for the win partly to the arrival of his beloved coach, Jimmy Connors. Connors had stayed behind in the United States after his mother’s death but arrived in Melbourne just in time for Roddick’s third round match. “For him to go through what he has gone through, hop on a flight, arrive this morning and stay up for me was great,” Roddick said in a news conference. “I hadn’t seen him for five to six weeks and I’m pretty excited to have him here.” Roddick faces another tough opponent in the fourth round in Croatian Mario Ancic.

World number one Roger Federer of Switzerland had an easy time against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia (6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5)). He meets Serbian Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.

Mardy Fish also moved to the next round when veteran Wayne Arthurs’ leg gave out and he had to retire while behind 3-0 in the first. Other winners in men’s singles were Tommy Robredo, David Ferrer, and Gasquet.

Men’s third round matches remaining include Rafael Nadal vs. Stanislas Wawrinka, James Blake vs. Robby Ginepri, Nikolay Davydenko vs. Fabrice Santoro, and Mardy Fish vs. Wayne Arthurs.