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Nadal missing from Spain-US semi

Spain has history on its side in its Davis Cup semifinal against the United States.

DAVIS CUP 2012

The United States has won in Spain only once and that was 40 years ago, while Spain's comfortable wins this year over Kazakhstan and Austria extended its 12-year unbeaten streak at home to 23 ties, all on clay. Spain is the defending champion and also won in 2008 and 2009.

Spain will face the United States this weekend on clay in Gijon, the port city on the Atlantic north coast. In the other semifinal, the Czech Republic will play Argentina in Buenos Aires, also on clay.

With Rafael Nadal still rehabbing the injured left knee that kept him out of the Olympics and US Open, Spain will be led again by David Ferrer, who is undefeated in Davis Cup at home and on clay. Nicolas Almagro is 4-0 in singles cup play this year, and Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez will be the likely doubles team.

Ferrer starred in the two most recent ties against the US, a semifinal win in 2008 and quarterfinal win in Austin, Texas, last year, and said being favored at home meant nothing.

''In Austin they were the favorite and we won. This time, we hope we will win again,'' he said.

The US has surprised this year, with wins in Switzerland and France, both on clay. John Isner led the way with victories over Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The Bryan twins, formidable in Davis Cup, are back in doubles, leaving the pressure on Isner to win his singles against Almagro on Friday and Ferrer on Sunday. Isner has losing records against both. Sam Querrey, who made his cup debut in the 2008 semifinal, was brought in as No. 2 for newcomer Ryan Harrison.

''I know our team is going to go in there believing we can win. We've had two already tough wins on the road so far,'' Isner said. ''We really do believe that we can beat Spain and that we can win the Davis Cup.''

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US Davis Cup Team ‏@USDavisCupTeam

Support the U.S. tomorrow vs. Spain! Watch #Querrey and @JohnIsner free on http://USTA.com live streaming and Tennis Channel. #Daviscup

Querrey to open play against Spain in Davis Cup semifinals

By Erin Bruehl, USTA.com

GIJON, Spain -- It has been two years since Sam Querrey played his last Davis Cup match, having to miss the competition and a few months on the ATP Tour last year due to elbow surgery.

But he has worked his game and ranking back amongst the best in the world yet again and is coming off a tremendously successful summer season, which included a title win in Los Angeles and a surge back up the rankings to No. 26. Now this week, he makes his Davis Cup return in the semifinals against Spain as the team’s No. 2 singles player and will play the opening match of the tie Friday against Spain’s No. 1 player, David Ferrer.

The order of play for the tie was determined at the official draw ceremony, with John Isner, the U.S. No. 1, playing Nicolas Almagro in the second singles match Friday. For the doubles rubber Saturday, the world No. 1 doubles team and reigning US Open champions Bob and Mike Bryan play doubles world No. 8 Marc Lopez and doubles world No. 13 Marcel Granollers. On Sunday, Isner leads off against Ferrer, and then Querrey closes the tie against Almagro.....

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Link

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Link: http://www.daviscup.com/En/photos/ga...aspx?id=128449

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Day 1
D Ferrer (ESP) d. S Querrey (USA) 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-4
N Almagro (ESP) d. J Isner (USA) 6-4 4-6 6-4 3-6 7-5

Rough day .

[Mae]

There was no way the U.S. was going to defeat Spain at home on clay even without Rafa!

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I don't think anyone expect them to win including myself. I was hoping they can make it competitive. Had John won today, things would have been more interesting b/c the Bryans can certainly win the doubles. Win or lose, I'm proud of them for making it this far especially since they had to win so many clay ties without home advantage.

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I spied Team USA cheering squad. Btw the cheering award goes to Johnson . He seemed to be really into it, very energetic compared to the other guys. Austin . Congrats to the Bryans on the win, still alive for one more day.

[Mae]

The Bryans were the only point I really thought we could get! So I'm glad they made it

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Day 2
Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan (USA) d. Marcel Granollers / Marc Lopez (ESP) 6-3 3-6 7-5 7-5

Day3
David Ferrer (ESP) d. John Isner (USA) 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 6-2
Nicolas Almagro (ESP) vs Sam Querrey (USA) Cancelled





Ferrer defeats Isner to clinch Davis Cup Semifinal for Spain

GIJON, Spain – When the draw came out for the 2012 Davis Cup, it looked like one of the toughest paths the U.S. could possibly have to move out of the first round, let alone advance to its first semifinal since 2008 or final since 2007.

The U.S. had to play now 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Switzerland in the first round, a daunting task any time, but especially away and on clay. But the Americans were equal to the task with a sensational weekend of tennis, upsetting the Swiss team 5-0, as John Isner beat Federer in four sets and Mardy Fish outlasted Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, to help the U.S. win with the improbable sweep.

The draw did not get any easier with having to travel to France, away on clay again, to face a few other top 20 players in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, but again the U.S. prevailed, behind two singles wins again from Isner and as usual, a clutch doubles win from Bob and Mike Bryan to advance to the semis.

Then came arguably the most difficult ask in Davis Cup: play Spain, the defending Davis Cup champion, away again and on clay again.

The U.S. team of world No. 10 Isner, No. 26 Sam Querrey and doubles world No. 1s the Bryans, behind Captain Jim Courier, played their hearts out and battled world No. 5 David Ferrer, world No. 12 Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez over three days in Gijon, Spain, with four and five-set marathon matches but in the end, the home team won a few more key points and prevailed.

Ferrer provided the tie-clinching point Sunday, defeating Isner 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in three hours to give Spain a 3-1 victory in the tie and advance to the Davis Cup Final. With the clinching win, the scheduled fifth singles match between Querrey and Almagro was canceled.

But even with the loss, the U.S. Davis Cup Team closes its 2012 chapter after a positive, successful season, although of course Courier and his players all had hoped to bring home the title.

"I think it was a great battle between two of the best teams in the world. Spain is the high water mark in Davis Cup in the last 15 years and we knew it was going to be a very tricky tie for us and we were close," Courier said. "We are proud of our effort and we salute the Spanish team for its efforts and its victory. Two great teams went out there and competed and it was very close and the team that played better when they needed to won the matches.

"It has been a very positive year for us on the US Davis Cup Team," he added. "We have been given the most difficult draw that you can have in this era to play the teams we have on the road and we had some great wins and we had some competitive losses. There is a lot for this team to be proud of and what we have achieved this year."

...http://www.usta.com/Pro-Tennis/Davis...nal_for_spain/

USTA Photo albums:

2012 Davis Cup: U.S. vs. Spain, Day 1
2012 Davis Cup: U.S. vs. Spain, Day 2
2012 Davis Cup: U.S. vs. Spain, Day 3

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Finally, home field advantage!

The two losing semifinalists in 2012, USA and Argentina, both open their accounts in front of home fans in 2013. The Americans take on Brazil and the Argentines face a tough fixture against Germany.

www.daviscup.com/en/news/articles/2013-davis-cup-draw-world-group.aspx


2013 World Group Draw:

1.Spain
2.Canada

3.Croatia
4.Italy

5.Serbia
6.Belgium

7.USA
8.Brazil

9.Israel
10.France

11.Germany
12.Argentina

13.Austria
14.Kazakhstan

15.Switzerland
16.Czech Republic

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The United States and Brazil will play a first-round Davis Cup match in Jacksonville in February.

The United States Tennis Association and Davis Cup captain Jim Courier made the announcement Tuesday. The matches will be held Feb. 1-3 at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Americans have played all three of their matches on the road this year, posting wins over Roger Federer's Swiss team and France before losing to Spain in the semifinals.

The U.S. is 109-16 all-time in Davis Cup events played at home and 6-0 in Florida. This will be the seventh Davis Cup match played in Florida and the first since the U.S. defeated Sweden 4-1 in the 2004 quarterfinal in Delray Beach.

The site selection is subject to final approval by the International Tennis Federation.

http://www.tennis.com/news/2012/10/us-brazil-play-davis-cup-tie-jacksonville/39797/#.UH3dtIZirwk

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Team nominations

USA v Brazil

Venue: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Location: Jacksonville, USA
Surface: Indoor hard

USA
John Isner
Sam Querrey
Mike Bryan
Bob Bryan
Jim Courier (captain)

Brazil
Thomaz Bellucci
Thiago Alves
Marcelo Melo
Bruno Soares
Joao Luis Zwetsch (captain)

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http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/8928

After missing the Australian Open due to a bone bruise in his right knee, John Isner may not be fully recovered for this week’s U.S. Davis Cup team’s first round match against Brazil in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I can’t say if I’ll be 100 percent in three or four days,” Isner was quoted in the Greensboro News-Record, his hometown newspaper, in an article published Monday. “I just don’t know. I’ll give it a try this week and see how it goes. I do know I won’t take any chances and risk the rest of the season. If I can play, I’ll play. If I can’t, I’ll wait.”

Isner told the News-Record’s Jeff Mills that a recent MRI showed reduced swelling. Isner also said to the News-Record that doctors had told him that his recovery could take four to six weeks.

Isner, ranked No. 16 in the ATP rankings is joined on the U.S. team by No. 20 ranked Sam Querrey and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

Isner, as the U.S. No. 1 player, is set to play against the Brazilian No. 2 player, Thiago Alves, ranked No.141, Friday during the first day of play in the best-of-five match series if Alves is the No. 2 nominated singles player as expected. Querrey, as the U.S. No. 2 player, will play the dangerous Brazilian No. 1 player Thomaz Bellucci, who is ranked No. 36, also on Friday.

If Isner gives it a go, he would be heavily favored to beat Alves in the faster indoor conditions, even if he was not playing at 100 percent. If Querrey is able to beat Bellucci, the U.S. would take a commanding 2-0 lead into Saturday’s doubles match, where the Bryan twins, fresh off winning their all-time men’s record 13th major doubles title, would be heavy favorites to clinch the series by a 3-0 margin by beating likely Brazilian doubles team of Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo, who reached the quarterfinals at last year’s Olympics, beating Isner and Andy Roddick en route. Isner, as the U.S. No. 1, is scheduled to play the Brazilian No. 1, Bellucci, in Sunday’s opening reverse singles match with Querrey and Alves closing out the best-of-five match series.

Should Isner not be able to compete this week, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier can substitute another singles player just prior to Thursday official Davis Cup draw ceremony. Both Bob and Mike Bryan currently do not have ATP singles rankings, although both have played “dead rubber” singles matches for the U.S. after a match has been clinched. The next highest ranked American player in the ATP singles rankings is Mardy Fish at No. 31, but Fish is still recovering from a heart condition and has not competed since he was forced to withdraw from a fourth-round match with Roger Federer at the U.S. Open in September. The retired Andy Roddick is still ranked at No. 41 and is the next highest ranked player, followed by No. 53 Brian Baker, who is out until late March due to a knee injury suffered at the Australian Open. Ryan Harrison, who played for the U.S. against France in last year’s quarterfinals, is the next highest ranked player at No. 57.

Isner said that missing the Australian Open is not the best omen for his 2013 season.

“I think it has set me back, to be honest,” Isner said to the News-Record. “You want to get off to a good start at the beginning of the year in Australia. And I wasn’t able to do that because of the injury. … It wasn’t great timing, but there’s nothing else I can do. I could’ve loaded up on some anti-inflammatories and given it a shot, but I wasn’t in any shape to go there and try to compete.”

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Captain Jim Courier, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Bob and Mike Bryan, Jack Sock and Bradley Klahn with children from John Stockton Elementary School, after hosting a 10 and Under Tennis clinic.

http://www.usta.com/multimedia-inter...p-kids-clinic/