By TW Contributing Editor, Ed McGrogan
Preview
When you're stuck in a car for over twelve hours straight, there's a tendency to start going crazy. Not even halfway into my journey from Whitesboro, NY to Winston-Salem, NC, I thought that I had already entered one of those states of mind.
I wanted to confirm what the two singles matches would be on Friday, so I called one of friends back home who had access to a computer. The first pairing he read back was "Roddick vs. Llodra." I nearly brought my car to a screeching halt on I-81, much like you'd see in the movies when the girlfriend drops that huge, life-changing secret on her unsuspecting beau. In this case, it was related to tennis, but anyone who knows me would tell you that the sport occupies my life much like a significant other would.
The reason for Llodra's participation in the Friday singles matches (he's also playing in doubles alongside Arnaud Clement) is that both Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet pulled out with injuries. Tsonga's bombshell was revealed on Wednesday (torn meniscus), while Gasquet's shocking departure was announced just yesterday. Citing a problem with blisters on his right hand, Gasquet will surely be hearing catcalls from the French faithful, in a move that evokes memories of last year's U.S. Open (Richard pulled out of his second round match against American Donald Young due to a fever/sore throat).
The omissions of Tsonga and Gasquet will hurt France's chances against a strong U.S. side, but it's not a death sentence by any means. There's something to be said about the pressure of expectations, which both Gasquet and Tsonga would have been feeling today. For Gasquet, this is nothing new - he's been expected to be the flagbearer for French tennis supremacy since he was discovered as a child prodigy. In Tsonga's case, tennis observers were undoubtedly impressed with his run to the finals of the Australian Open - but they are also waiting for more. Llodra and Paul-Henri Mathieu, the other singles player for France, will feel much less pressure, which should help in this away tie.
It should also be noted that Llodra and Mathieu are having tremendous seasons so far. The 27-year old Llodra has won two titles (Adelaide and Rotterdam), while Mathieu has quietly ascended to No. 12 in the world. Last week, Mathieu continued his steady play in Miami, upending Marin Cilic and Carlos Moya before falling to Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. The lightning-fast courts that were laid down by the U.S. for this tie should actually suit Mathieu's game the best, out of all the Frenchmen.
This tie is not over already (though I've heard otherwise), but it will be an even bigger challenge for France to overcome. Coming in as the underdogs, but with tremendous depth, France is already being forced to use the latter. But they are still the underdogs.
Check back at this post throughout the day, where I'll be providing a live call of the Roddick/Llodra match, and most likely the Blake/Mathieu rubber, as long as the technical aspects go smoothly. After each set, I'll be posting my thoughts. Join in on the discussion below.
Talk to you then - right now, I'm off to watch some practice sessions.
Roddick/Llodra - Set 1
Not only is the opening rubber of a tie crucial (the U.S. is 177-17 when winning the opening match in Davis Cup history), the opening set is quite significant as well. Both Llodra and Roddick seemed to sense this in today's match, taking a business-like approach to the court. When the points ended, there was some emotion released as well, which was to be expected. The pre-match ring ceremony certainly touched the patriotic Roddick, who seems to draw more from Davis Cup than anything else in tennis.
Llodra also recognized the magnitude of this moment. He hasn't been in a position like this many times before, and quickly joined in with the "allez" chants of his French supporters. During the points, he made a determined effort to hit to Roddick's weaker backhand side. In the first game, Llodra did so four times, and Roddick could only muster up one winning point from them. It was not only a smart thing to do, but a natural decision, because Llodra is a lefty and Roddick a righty.
The strategy worked in the first four games, where Llodra held serve with little trouble. Of course, Roddick was doing just the same. Mixing in speed up the middle with curling strikes out wide, Andy faced little resistance on his serve, which got an extra boost from the slick hardcourt.
At 4-4, however, Roddick's backhand was on. When Roddick beat Federer in Miami last week, his backhand actually looked quite effective as an offensive shot, and it was in this game as well. After winning an athletic point at net, Andy secured the break, then consolidated with his near-automatic serve.
Roddick/Llodra - Set 2
We're in the middle of a serving duel right now. Roddick has fired 21 aces, and Llodra isn't far behind with 14. Both players look confident when holding the ball, though Llodra needed to dig deep to recover from an 0-40 hole in the opening game of the set. Dropping this first game would have been quite damaging to Llodra's chances, not only in the set, but in the entire match.
After this initial testy game, a very clean set was played from both men. Llodra's serve isn't as dominant as Roddick's, so he compensated by coming into net regularly, in an effort to use his very effective volley. Who says doubles doesn't translate into singles play?
Before you knew it, it was 6-6, and headed to a tiebreaker. Llodra had a glimmer of hope, up 3-1, but it was Roddick who eventually prevailed, winning six of the last seven points. No matter what shot Roddick hit - a first serve, a running backhand pass, a cross-court forehand - he looks extremely comfortable when doing so. There's not one sense of panic or trepidation, which you can chalk up to eight years of Davis Cup experience. You can see this during the point, but also during breaks in play, where Roddick can be spotted bouncing the ball on his racquet, a la Tiger Woods. I also spotted some behind-the-back towel tosses to the ball kids.
Roddick/Llodra - Set 3
After watching the first two sets, it was apparent to me that Llodra's best, and probably only, chance to win was if he continued to employ his serve-and-volley tactics. They worked more often that not against Roddick at the start of the match, and even if they didn't work all the time, Llodra was winning more points this way than from the baseline. Llodra recognized this, and went to an almost exclusive serve-and-volley approach in set three.
The change in strategy worked. Llodra's service games became nearly as routine as Roddick's, as the Frenchman rarely missed once he made his approach to net. Doing this not only helped in terms of actual points and games won, but Llodra's confidence seemed to climb as well. For one of the first times in the match, I actually thought that Llodra might be able to steal a set from Roddick.
Roddick's serve was steadfast throughout, except in the eleventh game of the set. Tied 5-5, Llodra played an exceptional return game, which all emanated from his return of serve - a deadening chip that cancelled any force that was on the ball. With the point essentially starting over, Llodra found some openings against Roddick, and capitalized on enough of them to earn him three break points during the game.
Roddick played these pressure points better, but Llodra couldn't be faulted too much. The first break point was saved with a Roddick backhand down the line winner (seriously); the second a missed service return by Llodra. The third was the most cruel, however. Llodra found an open lane on the left hand side of the court, took a forceful forehand swing, and narrowly missed the winner - I was sitting on the baseline and it was out by angstroms.
After the best set of the match went unresolved, a tiebreaker was required. "Mini-breaks" were tough to come by, but Roddick eventually captured one after a Llodra volley, of all things, wasn't good enough. Roddick scampered to a ball left sitting in the middle of the court, put it away, and had the final piece to the puzzle.
6-4, 7-6, 7-6, United States.
Roddick/Llodra: Interviews
Throughout this match, Llodra repeatedly hit to Roddick's backhand side, but I wasn't 100 percent sure if the Frenchman hade made that a goal of his from the onset. Llodra confirmed my suspicions in the interview room, saying "the key was to put pressure on the backhand." Makes sense to me, as Roddick usually has more trouble from that side, which Llodra also agreed with.
I only mention this because I found one quote from Roddick's presser quite revealing. Talking about his backhand, Andy mentioned that he actually hits a better passing shot from this side of the court, instead of the forehand wing. Looking back on this match, he's right - I saw more effective backhand passing winners, and they came at critical moments in the set.
A more well rounded Andy Roddick spells more trouble for France - they direly need the Mathieu/Blake match to go their way. Unfortunately for les bleus, Paul-Henri is down after losing a tiebreaker in the first set. More to come as this match progresses.
!Phmbhand Blake/Mathieu: Set 2
There have been no breaks of serve in this match so far. Not much separates Mathieu and Blake - each has a go-for-broke style forehand, along with a very capable serve (as we've seen so far). One difference I detect is in their backhands. Mathieu's two-hander is hit nearly as hard as his forehand, as he's been able to do some damage with it so far. The only reason he hasn't broken through more often against Blake is due to James' exceptional defense, which won him a number of points in this set.
Blake's backhand can be a liability at times, but it's been consistent today. The American is also returning serve very well. He's getting chances to break Mathieu, but so far, the oft-fragile Frenchman has played a solid match, showing the form that's gotten him to twelfth in the world. The only big letdown for Mathieu was in the first set tiebreaker, but he atoned for that in the second set's overtime, winning it comfortably.
It's a guessing game from here on out, but I suspect that match will come down to only a few key points. Mathieu should look to hit to James' backhand more, while Blake might be best suited to keep rallies going - he can outlast Paul-Henri most times.
Blake/Mathieu: Set 3
The first break of the match went to Blake. Not surprisingly, so did the set. It was not without a struggle though, particularly in the seventh game.
James was serving, up 4-2, and was forced to five deuces before eventually securing a very important game. Mathieu, who played another fine set of tennis after being broken early, had plenty of chances to recover the lost game, but couldn't handle James' serve, particularly out wide. Spraying two returns long and one into the net, Mathieu let James escape this game without ever facing a break point. By the time the fourth deuce game around, French captain Guy Forget was practically begging Mathieu to stay focused. There was no translation needed - you could see it with his hand motions.
The break would never come though, and the vocal Winston-Salem crowd (the Netheads are sitting right behind me) got their loudest after James finally won in the fifth deuce. He's up two sets to one now, but I still wouldn't count Paul-Henri out yet. During rallies, he's probably hitting the ball better than any of the four players on court today (he has 46 winners at the moment). However, Blake's defense and consistency on his groundstrokes have stifled much of Mathieu's tennis.
Blake/Mathieu: Set 4
We're headed to a fifth here in North Carolina, after Mathieu continued his strong play in the fourth set. Mathieu wrestled away a break of serve in the fourth game with a forehand that narrowly caught the line, and proceeded to hold serve the rest of the way. The close shot is emblematic of this whole match, which has been top notch in terms of quality tennis.
In case you were wondering, there are pockets of French support here at this tie. On the upper bowl is a section entirely comprised of French fans, with another crowd straight below them in the pricier seats. And then there's the French team courtside, which has turned into a cheeleading team in the last hour, urging on Paul with every chance they get (Arnaud Clement is the ring leader).
Mathieu was tested when serving for the set at 5-3, facing a break point after Blake took two points with crisp backhands - one deep, and one at net. The break did not come though, and Mathieu, along with the French fans, live on for a fifth set.
Blake/Mathieu: Set 5
There are two things I'd like to tell you about this captivating final set:
- The pressure in the building was palpable. Both Mathieu and Blake were feeling it throughout the fifth set. If the first four sets of the match resembled a casual drive through the plains of North Carolina, the fifth was akin to barreling down hairpin turns in the mountains of Virginia.
After exchanging breaks to level the set at two games apiece, each service game thereafter became a test of will. Mathieu - miraculously - did not crack in the face of a boisterous crowd. In fact, he saved his best for last (or so I thought), cracking a running forehand winner that surely must have just grazed the line (it was on the opposite side of the court from my seat). The French supporters erupted, and although James saved two break points, the third time wasn't a charm, and Mathieu led 5-4. He would have a chance to serve out the match.
That's where my second point comes in:
- The most valuable shot of the match was James Blake's return of serve. In the face of pressure, Blake definitely fed off the crowd's energy. This isn't anything new, but it once again proved the advantage of playing a Davis Cup tie at home. Blake started to play more aggressively, and he had to just to keep up with Mathieu, whose game never dropped in intensity throughout the match. But what ultimately saved Blake was his return of serve, which was crucial in saving two match points. After winning a tense rally to save the first Mathieu match point, Blake's backhand return of serve got him in position to save the second. At deuce, Mathieu unloaded another big serve, but the pressure was put right back on him after another solid backhand return. Blake took the point, the game, and shortly after, the match.
7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, United States.