The Once and Future Stars

by Savannah

It's going to be Spain vs the United States and one again the Battle Royale will take place on U.S. soil.

The Spanish team, anchored by Rafael Nadal, routed the Belgian team on its home turf in Charleroi 4-1 with Nadal playing what was essentially a dead rubber on Sunday.

The United States team, anchored by Andy Roddick was up against Chile on what else, red clay. It fell to Roddick to pull out the tie by defeating Paul Capdeville in reverse singles on Sunday. It was Roddick who took Team USA on his shoulders winning both of his singles matches. Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles making the final tally 4-1 United States.

Speculation has already begun as to where the United States will choose to play the tie scheduled for the week after Wimbledon ends in July. An on air report by Justin Gimelstob made it seem as if the choice would be Austin,Texas, Andy Roddick's home, on grass. That assertion was modified to include both San Antonio, Texas and Albany, New York.

The choice of a grass court would be interesting to say the least. Both teams have good grass court players so the surface would in effect be neutral. If grass is the ultimate choice the United States can't be accused of stacking the deck like it was when the last tie against Spain was played on a surface that may have been better suited for a hockey team.

Personally I think we're going to see a hard very fast surface no matter where the tie is played. I should mention that Albany is about 2 1/2 hours from New York City. I'm just saying.

The Weekend's Winners

I don't think anyone was rooting against Jelena Dokic yesterday. I for one have nothing against Lucie Safarova but seeing Jelena win her first title since 2002 left me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I had wondered if she was serious about her return since it seemed that she would take one step forward and two steps back but in Kuala Lumpur, away from the pressure she has to feel playing in Australia or the States she was able to pull out a win. How she will do in the two big United States tournaments remains to be seen. It would be nice to see her playing Bali at the end of the year.

The other woman hoisting a trophy for the first time in awhile is Dinara Safina who along with doubles partner Galina Voskoboeva won the doubles crown in Malayasia. I'm glad to see Dinara not being too proud to work on her game by playing doubles instead of beating her head against the brick wall of major titles just now. Nice win for her.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova successfully defended her title in Monterrey, Mexico by defeating a listless Jelena Jankovic. Maybe listless isn't the right word. JJ's court sense seems to have deserted her. Her shot selection and ball placement was completely off and the match was always on Pavs' racquet. I am at a loss to explain JJ's decision to play here when she is defending her title at Indian Wells starting this week. Maybe she felt she needed to play on a hard court. Maybe they offered her enough cheese to make the trip worthwhile. Whatever the reason for playing she has certainly lowered expectations for Indian Wells. Then again that could be a good thing.

The doubles team of Iveta Benesova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova are the Monterrey doubles champions.

Davis Cup Results

Listed below are the Davis Cup Results sent out by the ITF late yesterday.

WORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND

SERBIA defeated INDIA 4-1

Venue: Spens Sports Center, Novi Sad, SRB (hard – indoors)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna (IND) 63 63 57 36 63

Somdev Devvarman (IND) d. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 75 75 76(3)

Ilija Bozoljac/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) d. Rohan Bopanna/Somdev Devvarman (IND) 46 63 64 76(10)

Viktor Troicki (SRB) d. Somdev Devvarman (IND) 64 62 75

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. Karan Rastogi (IND) 60 61

SWEDEN defeated RUSSIA 3-2

Venue: Borashallen, Boras, SWE (hard – indoors)

Robin Soderling (SWE) d. Igor Andreev (RUS) 63 63 61

Joachim Johansson (SWE) d. Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 63 76(4) 64

Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) d. Igor Kunitsyn/Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) 64 67(6) 76(6) 62

Dmitry Tursunov (RUS) d. Simon Aspelin (SWE) 75 62

Igor Andreev (RUS) d. Joachim Johansson (SWE) 76(8) 64

KAZAKHSTAN defeated CZECH REPUBLIC 3-2

Venue: CZE Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoors)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 76(4) 67(3) 16 76(4) 63

Tomas Berdych (CZE) d. Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 76(5) 63 62

Tomas Berdych/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) d. Evgeny Korolev/Yuriy Schukin (KAZ) 64 64 76(4)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) d. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 75 57 64 62

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) d. Jan Hajek (CZE) 64 67(4) 76(8) 60

ARGENTINA defeated ROMANIA 4-1

Venue: Parque Roca, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoors)

David Nalbandian (ARG) d. Adrian Ungur (ROU) 63 62 57 64

Juan Monaco (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 76(5) 16 61 61

Juan Ignacio Chela/Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Hanescu/Horia Tecau (ROU) 62 76(8) 61

Eduardo Schwank (ARG) d. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 76(3) 62

Adrian Ungur (ROU) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 64 26 63

USA defeated CHILE 4-1

Venue: Estadio Nacional, Santiago, CHI (clay – outdoors)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 62 46 63 64

Paul Capdeville (CHI) d. John Isner (USA) 67(5) 67(2) 76(3) 76(5) 64

Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) d. Jorge Aguilar/Nicolas Massu (CHI) 63 63 76(4)

Andy Roddick (USA) d. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 36 76(2) 63 63

John Isner (USA) d. Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz (CHI) 63 67(4) 75

SPAIN defeated BELGIUM 4-1

Venue: Spiroudome, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoors)

Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Xavier Malisse (BEL) 64 63 61

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 62 64 62

Feliciano Lopez/Fernando Verdasco (ESP) d. Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL) 76(0) 64 63

Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Olivier Rochus (BEL) 64 62

Steve Darcis (BEL) d. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 67(4) 76(6) 76(3)

GERMANY defeated CROATIA 3-2

Venue: Dom Sportova, Zagreb, CRO (hard – indoors)

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Florian Mayer (GER) 46 60 46 63 61

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) d. Ivan Dodig (CRO) 64 36 46 76(6) 64

Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivan Dodig/Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 63 36 57 63 64

Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 62 63 76(6)

Philipp Petzschner (GER) d. Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 64 76(3) 76(5)

FRANCE defeated AUSTRIA 3-2

Venue: Vienna Airport Hangar 3, Vienna, AUT (clay – indoors)

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 75 64 75

Gilles Simon (FRA) d. Stefan Koubek (AUT) 60 62 63

Oliver Marach/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Julien Benneteau/Michael Llodra (FRA) 64 36 63 64

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Gilles Simon (FRA) 76(7) 36 16 64 60

Jeremy Chardy (FRA) d. Martin Fischer (AUT) 26 76(4) 63 63

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CANADA defeated MEXICO 4-1

Venue: Club Deportivo La Asuncion, Estado de Mexico, MEX (clay – outdoors)

Daniel Garza (MEX) d. Frank Dancevic (CAN) 26 46 62 63 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 62 62 61

Vasek Pospisil/Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Luis Diaz-Barriga/Miguel Angel Reyes Varela (MEX) 46 63 64 64

Milos Raonic (CAN) d. Daniel Garza (MEX) 75 63 62

Peter Polansky (CAN) d. Manuel Sanchez (MEX) 64 61

URUGUAY defeated COLOMBIA 3-1

Venue: Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club, Montevideo, URU (clay – outdoors)

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Alejandro Falla (COL) 26 61 62 64

Santiago Giraldo (COL) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) 62 60 62

Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Felder (URU) d. Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah (COL) 16 76(6) 16 76(5) 62

Pablo Cuevas (URU) d. Santiago Giraldo (COL) 62 63 64

Martin Cuevas (URU) v Alejandro Falla (COL)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

CHINA, P.R defeated CHINESE TAIPEI 3-2

Venue: Shanghai Xianxia Tennis Center, Shanghai, CHN (hard – indoors)

Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 57 61 76(5) 46 86

Di Wu (CHN) d. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) 64 36 36 75 97

Yen-Hsun Lu/Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong/Zhe Li (CHN) 75 64 67(3) 76(4)

Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) d. Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) 61 62 62

Di Wu (CHN) d. Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 63 62 26 60

JAPAN defeated PHILIPPINES 3-1

Venue: Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Lapu-Lapu City, PHI (clay – outdoors)

Tatsuma Ito (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 64 67(5) 63 67(3) 97

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Johnny Arcilla (PHI) 63 63 63

Treat Huey/Cecil Mamiit (PHI) d. Hiroki Kondo/Takao Suzuki (JPN) 61 76(5) 62

Go Soeda (JPN) d. Cecil Mamiit (PHI) 76(5) 62 36 63

Johnny Arcilla (PHI) v Tatsuma Ito (JPN) – NOT PLAYED

UZBEKISTAN defeated NEW ZEALAND 3-2

Venue: Sport Complex Pahlavon, Namangan, UZB (clay – indoors)

Farrukh Dustov (UZB) d. Artem Sitak (NZL) 60 63 61

Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Jose Statham (NZL) 62 63 63

Farrukh Dustov/Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Marcus Daniell/Michael Venus (NZL) 76(5) 63 64

Artem Sitak (NZL) d. Murad Inoyatov (UZB) 61 67(2) 63

Michael Venus (NZL) d. Vaja Uzakov (UZB) 63 60

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I FIRST ROUND

SLOVENIA defeated FINLAND 3-2

Venue: Sportno Rekeacijski Center Tivoli, Ljubljana , SLO (clay – indoors)

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Grega Zemlja (SLO) 36 63 64 63

Blaz Kavcic (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara (FIN) 46 62 63 64

Luka Gregorc/Grega Zemlja (SLO) d. Harri Heliovaara/Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 67(5) 64 64 75

Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) d. Blaz Kavcic (SLO) 63 64 46 64

Grega Zelmja (SLO) d. Micke Kontinen (FIN) 26 63 63 63

NETHERLANDS level with UKRAINE 2-2

Venue: Palace of Sports Lokomotiv, Kharkiv, UKR (hard – indoors)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Robin Haase (NED) 61 64 67(2) 46 62

Thiemo de Bakker (NED) d. Iliya Marchenko (UKR) 76(3) 76(6) 64

Thiemo de Bakker/Robin Haase (NED) d. Sergei Bubka/Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) 76(6) 67(5) 64 76(9)

Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) d. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 61 64 36 67(4) 64

Iliya Marchenko (UKR) v Robin Haase (NED)

PORTUGAL defeated SLOVAK REPUBLIC 4-1

Venue: Centro Desportivo Nacional do Jamor, Cruz Quebrada, POR (clay – outdoors)

Frederico Gil (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 62 62 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 64 64 16 26 64

Michal Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK) d. Frederico Gil/Leonardo Tavares (POR) 63 64 16 61

Rui Machado (POR) d. Lukas Lacko (SVK) 64 36 64 60

Joao Sousa (POR) d. Martin Klizan (SVK) 62 41 ret.

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND

ISRAEL defeated POLAND 3-2

Venue: Canada Stadium, Ramat Hasharon, ISR (hard – outdoors)

Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Marcin Gawron (POL) 61 63 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) d. Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 46 62 62 67(4) 63

Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) d. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL) 46 64 63 61

Jerzy Janowicz (POL) d. Dudi Sela (ISR) 76(5) 64

Amir Weintraub (ISR) v Marcin Gawron (POL) - FORFEIT

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

PERU defeated NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 5-0

Venue: Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposicion, Lima, PER (clay – outdoors)

Ivan Miranda (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 60 60 61

Mauricio Echazu (PER) d. Alexander Blom (AHO) 62 63 75

Duilio Beretta/Sergio Galdos (PER) d. Alexander Blom/Martijn van Haasteren (AHO) 64 62 36 62

Sergio Galdos (PER) d. David Josepa (AHO) 61 62

Duilio Beretta (PER) d. Nick van Rosberg (AHO) 60 60

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC defeated EL SALVADOR 5-0

Venue: Maya Country Club, Santa Tecla, ESA (clay – outdoors)

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) 63 63 61

Victor Estrella (DOM) d. Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 26 76(3) 64 61

Victor Estrella/Jose R. Hernandez (DOM) d. Marcelo Arevalo/Rafael Arevalo (ESA) 64 64 46 64

Luis Delgado (DOM) d. Andres Weisskopff (ESA) 64 62

Jhonson Garcia (DOM) d. Alberto Alvarado (ESA) 60 61

PARAGUAY defeated PUERTO RICO 4-1

Venue: Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PUR (hard – outdoors)

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Ricardo Gonzalez-Diaz (PUR) 62 62 64

Alex Llompart (PUR) d. Diego Galeano (PAR) 63 36 46 75 61

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia/Gustavo Ramirez (PAR) d. Chris Brandi/Alex Llompart (PUR) 46 63 61 46 75

Daniel-Alejandro Lopez Cassaccia (PAR) d. Alex Llompart (PUR) 63 60 64

Diego Galeano (PAR) d. Chris Brandi (PUR) 64 63

VENEZUELA level with HAITI 2-2

Venue: Centro Nacional de Tenis, Caracas, VEN (hard – outdoors)

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Luis David Martinez (VEN) 76(2) 63 36 64

Piero Luisi (VEN) d. Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI) 62 62 61

Piero Luisi/Roberto Maytin (VEN) d. Joel Allen/Olivier Sajous (HAI) 67(3) 36 76(0) 62 62

Olivier Sajous (HAI) d. Piero Luisi (VEN) 67(3) 64 64 06 64

Luis David Martinez (VEN) v Jean Marc Bazanne (HAI)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

KOREA, P.R. defeated SYRIA 4-1

Venue: Changwon Municipal Tennis Courts, Changwon, KOR (hard – outdoors)

Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Marc Abdulnour (SYR) 63 61 61

Soong-Jae Cho (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 61 64 61

Soong-Jae Cho/Hyun-Joon Kim (KOR) d. Majdi Salim/Roman Radwan (SYR) 62 61 61

Marc Abdulnour (SYR) d. Suk-Young Jeong (KOR) 36 64 76(3)

Yong-Kyu Lim (KOR) d. Issam Tawil (SYR) 62 62

PAKISTAN defeated HONG KONG, CHINA 3-1

Venue: Victoria Park, Hong Kong, HKG (hard – outdoors)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) d. Aisam Qureshi (PAK) 76(3) 46 67(2) 75 64

Aqeel Khan (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 75 75 64

Aqeel Khan/Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Jonathan Chu/Coenie van Wyk (HKG) 76(4) 64 64

Aisam Qureshi (PAK) d. Martin Sayer (HKG) 76(8) 63 76(4)

Hiu-Tung Yu (HKG) v Aqeel Khan (PAK)

INDONESIA defeated IRAN 3-2

Venue: Shiroodi Sports Complex, Tehran, IRI (clay – indoors)

Anoosha Shahgholi (IRI) d. Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) 63 64 26 46 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Shahin Khaledan (IRI) 76(3) 61 63

Christopher Rungkat/Sunu-Wahyu Trijati (INA) d. Anoosha Shahgholi/Omid Souri (IRI) 63 61 75

Christopher Rungkat (INA) d. Mohsen Hossein Zade (IRI) 63 63 60

Shahin Khaledan (IRI) d. Aditya Hari Sasongko (INA) 61 67(5) 63

THAILAND defeated PACIFIC OCEANIA 5-0

Venue: Hilton Tennis Club, Guam, POC (hard – outdoors)

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 60 62 63

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 63 63 60

Sonchat Ratiwatana/Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe/Leon So’onalole (POC) 64 75 62

Danai Udomchoke (THA) d. Michael Leong (POC) 64 60

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) d. Cyril Jacobe (POC) 62 62

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II FIRST ROUND

GREAT BRITAIN defeated TUNISIA 4-1

Venue: Bolton Arena, Bolton, GBR (hard – indoors)

Malek Jaziri (TUN) d. Jamie Baker (GBR) 46 63 75 62

James Ward (GBR) d. Sami Ghorbel (TUN) 60 62 60

Colin Fleming/Jamie Murray (GBR) d. Slim Hamza/Malek Jaziri (TUN) 61 36 63 64

James Ward (GBR) d. Malek Jaziri (TUN) 36 63 36 63 86

Jamie Baker (GBR) d. Slim Hamza (TUN) 61 64

LUXEMBOURG defeated IRELAND 3-1

Venue: David Lloyd Riverview Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin, IRL (hard – indoors)

Conor Niland (IRL) d. Mike Vermeer (LUX) 61 60 62

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Barry King (IRL) 46 61 63 63

Laurent Bram/Gilles Muller (LUX) d. James Cluskey/James McGee (IRL) 76(4) 76(4) 64

Gilles Muller (LUX) d. Conor Niland (IRL) 64 64 64

James McGee (IRL) v Mike Vermeer (LUX)

BELARUS defeated BULGARIA 4-1

Venue: Republic Olympic Training Center for Tennis, Minsk, BLR (hard – indoors)

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Todor Enev (BUL) 62 36 67(4) 62 62

Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) d. Siarhei Betau (BLR) 75 64 26 76(2)

Uladzimir Ignatik/Max Mirnyi (BLR) d. Valentin Dimov/Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 64 64

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) d. Dimitar Kutrovsky (BUL) 36 62 61 64

Alexander Bury (BLR) d. Dimitar Kuzmanov (BUL) 62 63

HUNGARY defeated CYPRUS 5-0

Venue: National Tennis Centre, Nicosia, CYP (hard – outdoors)

Adam Kellner (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean (CYP) 64 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 61 62 62

Attila Balazs/Kornel Bardoczky (HUN) d. Rares Cuzdriorean/Christopher Koutrouzas (CYP) 61 64 63

Attila Balazs (HUN) d. Sergis Kyratzis (CYP) 64 76(6)

Marton Fucsovics (HUN) d. Philippos Tsangaridis (CYP) 64 63

BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA defeated MOROCCO 3-2

Venue: Royal Tennis Club de Marrakech, Marrakech, MAR (clay – outdoors)

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Amer Delic (BIH) 62 76(4) 64

Aldin Setkic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 64 26 57 63 64

Amer Delic/Ismar Gorcic (BIH) d. Reda El Amrani/Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 63 62 16 64

Reda El Amrani (MAR) d. Aldin Setkic (BIH) 26 62 60 61

Amer Delic (BIH) d. Talal Ouahabi (MAR) 61 63 46 61

ESTONIA defeated LITHUANIA 3-2

Venue: Rocca al Mare Tennisekeskus, Tallinn, EST (hard – indoors)

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jaak Poldma (EST) 76(3) 62 63

Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) 45 ret.

Mait Kunnap/Jurgen Zopp (EST) d. Richard Berankis/Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 62 63 36 63

Richard Berankis (LTU) d. Jurgen Zopp (EST) 16 46 64 63 119

Jaak Poldma (EST) d. Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) 61 64 16 61

DENMARK defeated MONACO 3-2

Venue: Bramdrupdam Hallerne, Kolding, DEN (carpet – indoors)

Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) d. Martin Pedersen (DEN) 76(3) 46 64 26 62

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Thomas Oger (MON) 75 62 75

Thomas Kromann/Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Guillaume Couillard/Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 62 63 61

Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Jean-Rene Lisnard (MON) 63 62 64

Benjamin Balleret (MON) d. Soren Wedege (DEN) 62 76(5)

LATVIA defeated GREECE 4-1

Venue: Thessaloniki Tennis Club, Thessaloniki, GRE (clay – outdoors)

Andis Juska (LAT) d. Theodoros Angelinos (GRE) 63 75 62

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 63 61 61

Andis Juska/Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Konstantinos Economidis/Alexandros Jakupovic (GRE) 64 63 63

Deniss Pavlos (LAT) d. Paris Gemouchidis (GRE) 63 64

Konstantinos Economidis (GRE) d. Mikelis Libietis (LAT) 61 62