By Rosangel Valenti, TW Contributing Editor
Good morning. As usual, here is your daily gathering-place for discussing today's concluding Davis Cup singles matches - and it will be much appreciated if you could keep your talk focused on the tennis until the day's ties are over.
Along with Tribe members marieJ and GVGirl (the latter with the Netheads), I'll be here in Madrid for the end of the tie between Spain and trhe USA. Whether I return home tonight or tomorrow may depend on the result of the match between Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick - I'm no great fan of dead Davis Cup rubbers. On paper, Nadal is the clear favourite to win, because it's red clay, he's in front of a partisan home crowd, and he won the last match against Roddick, at Queen's Club earlier this year, in straight sets. However, as most of you know, the Spanish players aren't enthralled by playing in a venue so far above sea level, where the balls fly through the air, and improve the efficacy of a big serve, among other things. Roddick has a chance, if he serves well enough. As for the final rubber between Ferrer and Querrey, if it's live - it could go either way.
Yesterday's doubles match lived up to my hopes by going to a fifth set, won by Mardy Fish along with Moike Bryan. The crowd was probably instrumental in inspiring Lopez and Verdasco through the tricky fourth set, but, as on previous occasions (including the last Davis Cup match played by the pair, in Bremen against Germany), the Verdasco serve proved to be the weak link. The Spanish crowd have been mostly well-behaved - the only exception has been that at key moments some people cheer the service faults of the opposing team, necessitating an immediate request from the umpire to keep quiet.
