Davis Cup Fever--It's Catching

Davis Cup Fever--It's Catching ~~~
©Colette Lewis 2006

I didn't abandon the High Performance Camp, it's just that my attention was diverted by all the drama and unpredictability of the actual competition at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.

The boys continued to run in the mornings, play matches as time permitted, view a video analysis of their strokes and court demeanor, AND get front row seats to the Davis Cup.

In the above photo, JT Sundling and Austin Krajicek sit on the U.S. team bench during the Andy Roddick/Razvan Sabau match Sunday, getting an inside view that made the early morning beach workouts and hours of clinics and practices seem a small price to pay.

Wayne Bryan told me how his sons formed the idea that they'd play in the Davis Cup someday.

"It was imprinted when they were ten or eleven, they went to La Costa to see the great Ricky Leach and Jim Pugh (First round tie versus Mexico). They were getting popcorn in the tunnel before the match and suddenly Jim and Ricky walk by. The boys start calling 'Ricky Leach, Ricky Leach' and he stops and says 'Hey twins, do you play tennis?' The boys answered 'Yes we just won the Long Beach 12 and under doubles.' And as Ricky was walking away he looked back and said 'Yeah, I won that one too.' It was all so simple--boys 12s Long Beach, Davis Cup. In the car on the way home, they said 'we're going to be the Davis Cup doubles team for the United States.' That's where it starts, with that first match. You ask Andy Roddick, he's got the same story.

And Roddick did in fact pass along his story of being in Ft. Worth for the 1992 final against Switzerland, watching a U.S. team consisting of Agassi, Courier, Sampras and McEnroe win the Cup. Roddick told how as a ten-year-old he and his oldest brother brought in air horns in an attempt to counteract the Swiss fans' cow bells.

Davis Cup captain Pat McEnroe said repeatedly this weekend how much he values the dedication Roddick has shown to Davis Cup, and in the past few years, McEnroe has had no shortage of suitable number two singles players to choose from. Vince Spadea and Robby Ginepri have expressed disappointment in not being chosen for recent ties, and Taylor Dent and Mardy Fish stand willing to serve as well. Is this desire to play Davis Cup, packed between an already full tournament schedule, a result of the kind of exposure that Bryan and Roddick remember? If it is, the USTA has probably found six converts through the High Performance camp and who knows how many other youngsters who were there unsponsored. I spotted 2006 Teen Tennis champion and Les Petits As semifinalist Raymond Sarmiento and 2005 Eddie Herr and Jr. Orange Bowl 12s finalist Mika DeCoster in La Jolla on Sunday, no doubt creating Davis Cup memories and dreams of their own.