by Pete Bodo
Mornin'. Just got off the Twitter#TennisChat with the USA's rookie Davis Cup captain, Jim Courier, and the man he replaced, Patrick McEnroe. It was an interesting drill, if a little hectic, but for those of you who missed it, the major takeaway is that the team line-up is wide open. Andy Roddick's decision to play Davis Cup this year may suggest that Courier is keeping a seat warm for him, and of course he would be crazy not to—Andy is still the towering figure in the U.S. men's singles game.
But a lot can happen between now and that quarterfinal World Group tie in Chile, a subject I touched on in my most recent post over at ESPN. The competition for a place on the squad (given that all of the U.S. players appear to be dedicated to Davis Cup, which has been the enormous value-added component of Roddick's service to the cause) is apt to be fierce. As Courier tweeted: "I've got big shoes to fill as capt but we have the horses. 4 top 20 singles players and #1 dubs team."
Those four Top 20 singles players (Roddick, Sam Querrey, John Isner and Mardy Fish) could be bunched together very closely as team nomination time approaches. I'm guessing that Courier will spend a lot of his time Down Under sprinting from court-to-court to keep tabs on how his candidates are doing.
There's still plenty of tread left on Roddick, despite all the years he's spent spinning his wheels against the very top players at major events. One of the big decisions Courier may have to make when he selects his squad is just how much emphasis to put on Roddick's superb Davis Cup record and his role as an inspirational team leader—especially if the other candidates for the team are playing well. Fish, for one, has made it pretty clear that he hopes to take up residence in the Top 10 this coming year—the one Roddick, 28, will embark on with a ranking of No. 8.
Fish is just a bit older than Roddick, and he finished the year ranked No. 16—a career high, and second among U.S. players to Roddick. This is a pretty interesting situation, if you recall the theme that emerged in the last two ties of McEnroe's tenure. It seemed that, overnight, the old guard (Roddick, James Blake, Mike and Bob Bryan) were yielding, to varying degrees, to the future as represented by Sam Querrey and John Isner, both capable singles and doubles players.
Bear in mind that the Bryans are no spring chickens, either. They may not be ready to queue up behind Dick Norman in the senior-citizen discount line at the Cineplex, but they're going to be 33 in April—a reality offset somewhat by their gung-ho attitude toward Davis Cup.
But right here, right now, it almost looks as if the Davis Cup squad is more likely to be hoary than impetuous. It's like Courier will spend January sitting with his hand poised above the "reset" button.
This isn't a bad state of affairs, though. Depending on how deep affection for Davis Cup runs in the likes of Isner, Querrey and even Ryan Harrison, the situation may motivate all of them to hit the ground running in 2011. And knowing they have to beat out those old dudes, Roddick and Fish, might yield divdends in the rankings, too.
Historically, Mardy Fish has been the odd man out on the U.S. Davis Cup team. It wasn't a degree of loyalty issue, as has been the case with some players over the years. Blake was just that much better a candidate for No. 2 singles, and always available. But a funny thing happened in Colombia a few months ago, where the USA played a critical first-round "playoff" match under tough conditions (at significant altitude, and on slow red clay). Fish became the first American player since Pete Sampras in 1995 to win all three matches of a tie, and that hero moment gives him an inside track for selection—especially as the American's first tie, against Chile, will take place in Santiago, under conditions more similar than different from those the USA faced in Colombia.
As much as Isner and Querrey may love Davis Cup, I can see where missing the trip to Chile wouldn't overly disappoint them. Both youngsters can play on clay (they played the final last year in Belgrade, with Querrey snatching up the title in a very competitive three-setter). But both of them like faster surfaces. And in Davis Cup competition, they've played only on clay (Isner is 2-0 in doubles, and 0-2 in singles; Querrey is 1-4, and only played singles).
Given that none of the U.S. players will be able to strut his stuff on clay before the tie, it seems more than likely that any dreams Courier has of building his own team—from the ground up, like McEnroe—will have to be deferred. He'll probably go to Santiago with McEnroe's team, albeit with Fish taking the place previously occupied by Blake. Should the U.S. win, the youngsters left behind will have to prove that they deserve a place on the team that will host Spain—undoubtedly on a very fast court—in what would be both a great opportunity and a high-profile clash.
If that's a problem, it's a good one for Courier to have.