Forget Tea and Crumpets, It’s Clay for Brits

Written by: Staff on 26th January 2014

Forget Tea and Crumpets, It’s Clay for Brits |

By John Freeman

Airing dirty laundry is one thing, but Captain Jim Courier hopes his USA Davis Cup team players will get their shoes and socks sullied when they go up against Great Britain this Friday at San Diego’s Petco Park.

“It’s definitely making our socks dirty,” said Courier, describing pre-match workouts, “which is a good thing.”

But that doesn’t mean the makeshift red-clay surface is quite ready for world-class competition, which starts Friday and continues Saturday and Sunday. Not yet, anyway.

“It’s a little bit slippery at the moment,” said Courier. “But it’s going to be wonderful by the time Friday rolls around.”

The hope is that clay will sufficiently slow down Britain’s No. 1 singles player, Andy Murray, the 2013 Wimbledon champion who favors grass and hardcourts.

“This is one of the most unique and beautiful tennis settings I think we’ll ever experience,” added Courier, referring to the 42,000-seat facility that’s home to major-league baseball’s Padres. “It’s spectacular to be in this ballpark and just have an incredible tennis facility pop up out of nowhere.”

The occasion marks the first time since 1992 that the USA selected clay at home. That’s when the USA defeated Sweden, 4-1, in a semifinal match played in another baseball stadium, the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN.

Sam Querrey, the USA’s No. 1 singles player with John Isner as No. 2, agreed with Courier that clay favors the Americans. Or so they hope. “We thought it was the surface that gave us the best chance,” said Querrey. “We’ve all played well on clay in the past.”

Meanwhile, as the ersatz venue made its final conversion to a different sport, talk turned to noise levels.

The heralded USA doubles duo of Bob and Mike Bryan hopes San Diego’s sometimes blasé sports fans will treat the event with the loud fervor that’s usually reserved for Davis Cup matches abroad. Crowds of 5,000 to 8,000 are expected within the temporary facility that’s plunked in the middle of Petco’s left-field grass.

“We want to hear lots of noise,” said Mike. “We hope there’s a great crowd, that they’re pretty boisterous and they give us the support we need. Bob and I treat these matches like they’re Grand Slam finals. We want to win.”

The best-of-five match begins Friday with two singles matches, featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. The draw is scheduled for Thursday. Saturday’s schedule features the pivotal doubles match.

The final day’s action, which goes up against the NFL’s Super Bowl on Sunday afternoon, includes two “reverse singles” matches. All matches are best-of-five sets until one country wins three matches.

Net Notes:

• For tennis historians, this weekend’s match has significance that dates back more than a century. The first-ever Davis Cup tie was contested between the same two nations at Boston’s Longwood Cricket Cup back in 1900. The USA won 3-0.

• Davis Cup gets its name from Dwight F. Davis, who in 1899 was a left-handed Harvard tennis standout known for his twisting serve. Along with his Crimson teammates, he designed the event’s original format pitting the U.S. against a British Isles team. According to legend, Davis put up his own money to purchase the winner’s prize, a sterling silver trophy.

• The USA leads the all-time series 11-7, and has captured the past four meetings between the two countries. Great Britain was last victorious in 1935.

Topics: 10sballs, Andy Murray, Bob Bryan, Clay, Davis Cup, Jim Courier, Mike Bryan, Sam Querrey, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News