A new era begins for the U.S. Davis Cup team this weekend, when the boys head for an opening-round tie in Serbia. What will this future look like? All we can say for sure is that it’s going to be taller. After a decade of stalwart service, Andy Roddick and James Blake are taking the season off. To replace them, captain Patrick McEnroe has gone up the ladder and chosen 6-foot-9 John Isner and—since every team needs someone they can call “Shrimp”—6-foot-6 Sam Querrey. Bridging the old guard and the new, and, as usual, holding the key to this tie, will be doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan.
The defining feature of the American team is height. For the Serbs this weekend, it’s black hair and facial scruff. Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic have been sporting full-blown goatees, and by the end of the week even Novak Djokovic appeared to be tentatively following in their footsteps. The Tall and the Brooding—a perfect set-up for a soap opera, and for what should be a tight and rowdy tie.
First rubber: John Isner vs. Viktor Troicki
Serbia’s coach had a heads-or-tails choice for his No. 2 position: Tipsarevic, currently ranked No. 36, or Troicki, currently ranked No. 35. In picking Troicki, he went with youth over experience—Tipsarevic has played 38 Cup matches to Troicki’s eight. But the Serbs also got a guy who has beaten Isner in their only meeting, on hard courts in Bangkok last fall. For U.S. captain McEnroe, picking Isner was easy. He’s transformed himself from a sideshow to a serious player over the course of the last year, cracking the Top 20 and bringing his best game at the majors.
The pros for Isner in this match: The fact that his big-serving style forces him to play, and win, lots of tiebreakers should, at least theoretically, help him cope with the pressure of making his DC debut in hostile territory. He’s always playing on a razor’s edge anyway. If this one does go to breakers, his serve and his long reach on returns may spell the difference. Plus, Troicki rides an emotional roller coaster at times. He can get negative, and he may not be the calm at the center of the home-crowd storm. The cons for Isner: As it is for every American man, clay is foreign soil. But there’s really no pressure, no pressure at all. Except that if Isner loses this match, the Americans are in serious trouble.
Second rubber: Sam Querrey vs. Novak Djokovic
That’s because, however much Querrey himself has improved in the last year, he’s still a long shot against the world's second-ranked player. Djokovic is 2-0 against Sam, including a 4-and-love win on clay in Monte Carlo in 2008. But, as we must note, that was two seasons ago, before Querrey had pushed Rafael Nadal on clay in his Davis Cup debut, before he won the U.S. Open Series last year, and before he cracked the Top 25 (Querrey is No. 22 right now). Djokovic is coming off a win in Dubai, which should make him confident but perhaps a little weary—with four of his matches going three sets, he played a lot of tennis in the desert to earn that win. And while he’ll be running on adrenaline before the home folks, Djokovic has had his ups and downs in Davis Cup. He’s 12-6 lifetime in singles, but last time out, in Spain last year, he dropped six straight sets to Nadal and David Ferrer. As collected as Querrey is likely to be under these trying circumstances, I think we can say for sure that that’s not going to happen to Djokovic this weekend.
Third rubber: Bob and Mike Bryan vs. Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic
With the Bryans around, you can usually call the doubles for the Yanks—the Bros are 17-2 lifetime in Davis Cup. But this one won’t be easy. Besides the clay and the crowd, Tipsarevic will be the most talented guy on the court, and he’ll be rested. And the 34-year-old Zimonjic is nothing if not a DC doubles warrior. He’s 22-5 lifetime, and, if Serbia’s coach wants to make a substitution, he can work with anyone. Zimonjic, a Grand Slam doubles champ, has won with Tipsy, Troicki, and Djokovic in the last two years.
Fourth rubber: Isner vs. Djokovic
These two have never played, which I don’t think is an advantage for either of them. Djokovic is obviously the better tennis player and the more versatile athlete. Isner’s hope is to take sets to tiebreakers, where, like I said before, his huge serve and long arms on returns always make him a threat. But while Djokovic has been tinkering with his own serve, and trying to find the right balance of patience and passion, it’s hard to imagine him losing at home on a Sunday, whether he’s playing to clinch or to keep the Serbs in it.
Fifth rubber: Querrey vs. Troicki
If it comes down to the wire, the Serb’s versatility may help. Depending on who has played how much tennis, the team could fire a fresher Tipsarevic in against Querrey. Though that may not be the smart move. Querrey is 1-0 against Tipsy, and 0-1 against Troicki. But if this is the deciding match-up, I like the cooler-headed Querrey’s chances.
Serbia: 3-2
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For U.S. fans looking to embrace the anarchic time-warp that is Davis Cup for another weekend, the tie begins, live, at 10:00 A.M. on Friday on the Tennis Channel.