Davis Cup Tennis: Isner's Dirty Socks, Bryan's Food Poisoning, Murray's MIA (Again) and More!

The Vancouver Olympics are over and for most of us it will be four years before we think again about curling, bobsleds, and grand slalom, not to mention snowboardcross and biathlon. We can replace those visions of speedskaters and ice dancers with some fascinating updates from the tennis world, which is currently watching Davis Cup competitions in Serbia, Lithuania, Chile, Spain, Moscow, and elsewhere. The first round (tie) of Davis Cup competition is taking place worldwide March 5-7, 2010.

John Isner and Bob Bryan Win Doubles Match in Davis Cup Tie vs. Serbia

Yes, you read that correctly, tennis fans. When Mike Bryan succumbed to food poisoning from a room service meal in Belgrade, the inseparable dynamic doubles duo of identical twins Bob and Mike Bryan would have been sidelined. However, a last minute substitution of John (the praying mantis) Isner, 6'9," allowed the U.S. to claim the match against Serbians Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (8), 5-7, 7-6 (8), 6-3.

This was particularly sweet for Isner, who lost his Davis Cup debut singles match to Viktor Troicki the day before in four hard-fought sets, while Sam Querrey went down at the hands of world number two player Novak Djokovic. Isner and Querrey are working hard to fill the shoes of the missing Andy Roddick and James Blake.

It was the first time one of the Bryans had played in Davis Cup competition without the other. The pair holds a 16-2 Davis Cup record and is ranked number one on the ATP tour. With Isner subbing, the win was far from assured, especially since Zimonjic is one of the world's best doubles specialists, ranked just behind Bryan and Bryan when playing with his usual partner, Daniel Nestor of Canada.

The doubles outcome put Serbia ahead 2-1, with Isner facing Djokovic and Querrey facing Troicki on Sunday, March 7 in "reverse singles" competition.

And the dirty socks? Lanky Isner ran, slid, and fell on the slippery red clay surface that was alien to him as an American former collegiate player. His size 15 shoes and white socks were covered in red clay dust-truly a sight to behold.

Brits are Winning 2-1 in Davis Cup Tie-Without Andy Murray!

To set the stage, you should know that the Brits, and only the Brits, have played in all 99 Davis Cup competitions ever held and have not won since 1937 and have not made the finals since 1978. They are currently ranked 36^th of the 131 Davis Cup nations. Captained by former Chris Evert spouse John Lloyd, the British team is so weak that they lost to Poland last September even with Andy Murray playing and winning both of his singles matches. Thus when Andy announced in January that he would be skipping the March tie against Lithuania (yes, Lithuania, ranked 62^nd...) there was a huge hue and cry that Britain's fate was sealed, and not in a good way.

Once Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski (Canadian masquerading as British) retired, only Andy Murray could provide the oomph needed to raise the British team from dismal to middling in Davis Cup. In fact, no British man outside that golden trio had won a Davis Cup singles match (a "live" rubber) for thirteen years until...

NOW! Davis Cup debutant James Ward defeated Lithuanian Laurynas Grigelis on Friday, March 5, 2010! Ward, 23, took an exciting straight sets victory 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Ward was playing because of an 11^th hour injury withdrawal by Jamie Baker (who had Davis Cup experience, including winning a so-called "dead rubber" against an Argentinian opponent last year). Unfortunately, teammate Dan Evans, 20, lost his match to Ricardas Berankis, but not without a major fight. It was a four-hour marathon five-setter and a very creditable performance by Evans.

Then, on day two, Britain's young doubles team won the day against the even younger and lower-ranked Lithuanians, 6-0, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3. On paper, the British "Flemski" (combo of Fleming and Skupski) looked a lot stronger than their opponents, but they definitely struggled in this match. Nevertheless, the Brits did win, putting their team at 2-1 for the tie.

The British backs are against the wall because they are at high risk of dropping into an even lower Davis Cup division-Europe/Africa III-unless they can win against someone soon. British fans would obviously be thrilled if either Evans or Ward could win on Sunday.

Spain vs. Switzerland-Kind of a Yawn without You-Know-Who and What's His Name

Spain vs. Switzerland in a tennis competition immediately conjures up an image of those many epic matchups between Roger and Rafa, right? Well, neither of those is in Logrono, Spain this weekend, even though Spain has a 2009 Davis Cup Championship to defend. Instead of Federer vs. Nadal, the spectators are left with Ferrer vs. Wawrinka and Almagro vs. Chiulinelli! So far, Spain is winning 2-1. Wawrinka is a brand new father of a six-week-old baby and is playing not up to his usual standard-lack of sleep, perhaps?

Chile is Tromping Israel 2-0 after Late Start Due to Earthquake

Located about 500 miles away from the earthquake zone, the Davis Cup competition in Coquimbo, Chile has been affected by those events only indirectly-most in travel delays for the competitors. The start of the competition was pushed back 24 hours, meaning that only the two singles matches have been played so far, both won by Chile. Fernando Gonzalez (or "Gonzo") is the headliner, ranked 10^th in the world, and he was able to prevail over Harel Levy, although Levy did take the first set. It took Nicolas Massu of Chile nearly four hours to defeat Dudi Sela.

Other Davis Cup Ties (World Group of top 16 teams) March 5-7

France (3) vs. Germany (0)

France has won, led by top players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfis.

Russia (2) vs. India (1)

Russia leads, although India took the doubles match with its legendary team of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reunited for the occasion!

Argentina (2) vs. Sweden (1)

Argentina leads; headliners are David Nalbandian (helped Argentina win the doubles) and Robin Soderling for Sweden (won his singles match easily and is expected to win again Sunday).

Croatia (3) vs. Ecuador (0)

Croatia has won. There are only four characters in this drama! Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic are playing both singles and doubles for Croatia while Ecuadorian brothers Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti are their opponents. The Lapentti brothers are staples of Davis Cup for Ecuador.

Czech Republic (3) vs. Belgium (0)

The Czech Republic has won, led by Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.

Much of this action is being televised on the the Tennis Channel. Note that in Davis Cup, the final matches are played, even if one or the other teams has clinched the tie. This is what is meant by a "dead rubber," which is definitely a colorful tennis term!

Sources:

Davis Cup Coverage on the Tennis Channel, March 6, 2010.

Davis Cup Official Website http://www.daviscup.com

"Davis Cup: Great Britain surge 2-1 ahead against Lithuania after doubles success" by Mark Hodgkinson for the Telegraph.co.uk, March 6, 2010.

"Bob Bryan, Isner Beat Serbia Team," by Associated Press on ESPN.com, March 6, 2010.