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U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe
© HRVOJE POLAN/AFP/Getty Images
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U.S. Team outside Istria House in Porec.
© Ron Angle
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U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe shares his thoughts exclusively with USTA.com. Before the 2009 World Group Quarterfinal series begins, during the heat of the battle and after the team's showdown against Croatia at the Zatika Sports Hall in Porec, Croatia, July 10-12, read McEnroe's exclusive analysis of team practice and preparation, the series outlook and the challenges ahead.
Entry No. 5: “We got beat by a better team”
Sunday, July 12 – Although the series didn’t end in our favor, Porec was a beautiful city, we were well taken care of, the hospitality was great, and the stadium was beautiful. Bottom line, we got outplayed by a better team.
In retrospect, the two matches on Friday were pretty key. If we could’ve won one of those, we might be playing a fifth match right now.
I think James handled the situation better, but it was a different kind of match. I thought Cilic played a great match; he played even better than he did on Friday. Even though the first two sets looked pretty easy, I thought that there was a lot of good tennis there, and James was really close to making it a really tough match for him. He fought hard in the third set to get back in it. But overall, I liked the way that he handled himself.
It’s no secret that we missed Andy Roddick. He’s actually missed two of the three ties that we played Croatia.
In terms of the make-up of the team, there’s always a chance that there could be changes in the future. Sam Querrey has an excellent future and is definitely coming along. I’d love to have a couple more young guns coming up, too.
But I think the core of the team will more than likely stay the same. If you have Andy and the Bryans healthy, that’s a pretty good start to any team. We’ll see what happens in the next year with James and Mardy and if Sam can play himself in there. And hopefully we can get someone younger to break onto the team in the next year or two. We’d love to get a chance to play Croatia again next year at home, so we’ll see.
Well, this about wraps up our time in Croatia and the 2009 Davis Cup season. Thanks to all of the fans for your support of Davis Cup tennis. We’re looking forward to seeing you again next year!
Entry No. 4: “Let’s Handle The Situation”
Saturday, July 11 – After going from about nine hours on court yesterday to about one today makes a big difference. Hopefully, we can all get some rest tonight, and gear up for what we hope will be a long day tomorrow. \
I think the number one thing for James and Mardy to do tomorrow is to handle the situation the best. Whether it’s the crowd, the court, whatever’s going on, I think that’s the biggest thing.
Tactically, we know what we have to do. We’ve got to play well, and we’ve got to take our chances when we get them. That’s one part of the equation.
The other part is just handling the Davis Cup atmosphere. Cilic and Karlovic both kept it together on Friday throughout the whole five sets, and that’s something that we’ve got to do.
Both physically and mentally, we’ve got to handle every point. It sounds simple but it’s not always that simple. So to me, that’s the biggest thing that we have to do.
It’s no secret that Croatia has given us some trouble over the years, and mainly, it’s because they’ve got good players. We’ve only played them twice, now three, so it’s not exactly a long history, but any time you play away against a good team, it’s difficult to win.
Obviously, when they beat us in the U.S., it was a pretty good upset for them, but they went all the way that year winning the Davis Cup. I think it’s mostly coincidence, to be honest, but for the most part they’ve got some good players that play well for their country.
We’re going to have to play well tomorrow, but we’re certainly optimistic that we can do it.
Entry No. 3: “We Aren’t Out Of It”
Friday, July 10 – We had two tough losses today and came up a little bit short, but I was very happy with their effort. Both guys battled hard and we are not out of this series.
We played well enough to win both singles matches, and there’s no reason that if we can win the doubles, we can’t go out there and win two singles matches on Sunday. James Blake fought hard and lost to a good player in Ivo Karlovic. You can tell that he’s worked hard to get his fitness better, and obviously has a great serve.
Above and beyond that, I thought he played quite well in the last few sets. James was right there with him to win it. Maybe he had a bit of a lapse in the third set and let Karlovic back in it, but there’s a reason that the guy’s ranked in the Top 30 in the world.
I’m not sure what James’s mindset is like right now – I’ll have to see when I get back to the team hotel. I know that he takes his losses hard. He has a full day to recover, and hopefully, his match on Sunday will mean something.
We have the Bryan Brothers coming out tomorrow, and we feel really good about the doubles.
Entry No. 2: “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Thursday, July 9 – Today, the team attended the official draw ceremony held at historic Istrian House, located at the harbor in Porec.
Part of our goal here this weekend is to make Ivo Karlovic and the rest of the Croatian team work as hard as they can out there on the court. Karlovic was selected to play in both the singles and doubles, and they could even decide to put Marin Cilic in the doubles, as well, if he’s feeling up to it. I think not only for that particular match, but for the best-of-five singles, as well. For James, that’s a good strategy on Friday – to make Karlovic work as hard as he can. Karlovic doesn’t have the best record in five-set matches, so it’ll help us, not only in that match but in the doubles and singles on Sunday, too. So that’s definitely something that we’re thinking about and trying to take advantage of.
In the second match on Friday, I think it’s a great opportunity for Mardy to play singles – he’s very excited about it. He’s had a good few days of practice and is feeling pretty comfortable on the indoor clay court. Cilic is a great player, so it’s a tough match no matter what surface. But I think Mardy is capable of playing quite well. My job is to keep him focused and doing the right things out there.
Last night, we attended the official dinner at a great restaurant, Dvi Murve. A long-time tradition, the rookie practice partners had to give a speech and perform in front of the large audience. Ryan Harrison had quite a rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was pretty entertaining, and Devin Britton gave a speech. The Bryan Brothers were back-up performers, so it was all in good fun.
We’ve been receiving text messages from a fella’ named Andy Roddick in Austin, Texas. He had a couple of suggestions for a couple of the speeches, so we took that into consideration as we always do.
I didn’t get to touch on this topic in yesterday’s blog entry, but as the General Manager of the USTA’s Player Development group, I was quite pleased with all of the Americans’ performances at Wimbledon. Obviously, Melanie Oudin had a huge result for us – that’s what it’s all about, trying to get our players to perform well in the big tournaments.
It was also nice to see good results in the juniors, as well, but I always stress that it’s about doing it at the pro level. So having Devin Britton here is kind of a wake-up call, playing in the juniors at Wimbledon and then practicing doubles with the Bryans. That’s the kind of experience that we want them to have. We’re certainly optimistic about the results, but we still have a lot of work to do.
Entry No. 1: “Make Them Work As Hard As They Can”
Wednesday, July 8 – Welcome back, U.S. Davis Cup fans, for the latest edition of the Captain’s Blog.
Dating back to the conclusion of the first round in Birmingham, Ala., we knew that the quarterfinals this weekend would be a tight turnaround following the end of Wimbledon and a long clay and grass-court season.
The good news is that the guys are responding well. It’s a tough match, but we are excited to come over here with a great team. The guys have all adjusted pretty well. We’re happy to have Mardy and get him over here pretty quickly. Everyone’s in good spirits – it’s certainly been a long road for them, but we’re getting used to the court and the conditions.
As I said before, it’s a great opportunity for both Mardy and James without Andy here. We’ve been hearing from him, so we know that he’s pulling for us.
Andy’s done so much for us over the years for the U.S. Davis Cup Team, and everybody knows that. He’s covered our butts many times, so now it’s time for us and these guys to cover for him. Even if we had Andy here, we knew that it was going to be a tough match.
Croatia has two really good players – Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic – and they’ll have a big home-court advantage. Everyone’s excited about trying to do their part.
I think it’s a great opportunity for James to slide into the No. 1 singles role. He’s always been the No. 2 guy on this team, with Andy playing the role of No. 1 quite well. But James has a lot of experience, and I think it’s a nice change for him to be put in that position. And, obviously, his match with Karlovic will obviously be key for us on Friday.
For me, it was a pretty easy decision to pick Mardy for the team when Roddick withdrew with his injury. He showed me something in the 2008 Davis Cup semifinals in Madrid, partnering with Mike Bryan. The experience that he has playing in Davis Cup competition is key and a part of my decision.
He’s had some pretty decent results on clay. He didn’t play great at the French Open, but he had some great wins in Rome. We think that he’s someone who can deliver for us in a big match. But the way that he stepped in last year in Madrid and played so well in the doubles certainly was a factor.
The tallest guy on tour, Karlovic, and Cilic, at 6-foot-6, are obviously big servers, with Cilic possessing more of an all-around game. They’re both very capable of winning matches, and Karlovic is enjoying his best two years on tour.
So for us, it’s as much of a mental battle as it is physical. To play as many long points as we can and keep them out there a long time on the court is key.
I think that our big advantage is having the Bryan brothers for the doubles match on Saturday. And I think for them, they’d like to see one or both of them out there playing doubles to wear them down. I’ve been trying to stress to the guys all week not to play any wasted points and make them work as hard as we can because even if it doesn’t pay off on Friday, it might pay off on Sunday.