Well, it looks like a wipeout is in the making in Belgrade, with the USA's Mike Bryan out of the doubles. His twin, Bob is playing with John Isner (now there's a potentially formidable doubles player, given his serve and wingspan). The Serbia squad features a doubles specialist in Nenad Zimonjic and a solid singles player in Davis Cup veteran Janko Tipsarevic. You might call these mirror-image teams, at least composition-wise. And that usually means we're in for a wild ride. I think this one could end up a classic, because there's no question in my mind that the USA is determined to avoid a 3-0 shutout.
I was impressed by the performance of the French yesterday. My first reaction when I saw the draw was that France has a great shot this year - especially if Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga can stay healthy. Regrettably, that's far from a given. I was also surprised to read that Monfils victory over Germany's Phillipe Kohlschreiber was the flamboyant Frenchman's first Davis Cup win. Maybe there's something special building along the banks of the Seine.
In other ties, I hope Chile lays the wood to Israel - it would be a morale booster to a nation that sorely needs it, although the scope of the tragedy there so big that even a resounding Davis Cup win would seem like a drop in the bucket of need. Still, a full bucket is just a collection of drops and you have to start somewhere. . . .
Enjoy the tennis, everyone.
-- Pete