Davis Cup Post Mortem

I am a bit behind the times this week but I still need to get my thoughts on Davis Cup out. It was such a great event for the city of Boise and for tennis in Idaho in general. I think we were all witness to a watershed moment for the sport in our state last week. Let's cover some winners and errors in review:

WINNERS:

1. Sam Querrey can battle. Early on, it did not look good for Sam on Friday afternoon. He was struggling to find his range and was a bit flat overall. But boy did he turn it on and make a comeback. His win on Friday to even the tie at 1-1 put the US team in the position I think everyone figured and hoped to be in heading in to Saturday.

2. The crowd. While it may not have been a sellout, I thought the crowd was great. The arena, especially on Saturday and Sunday, was loud and into the match. I also thought the Serbian contingent that was able to make it to the matches was very vocal and supportive of their team. I think the crowd support and excitement was everything the USTA could have hoped for.

3. Novak Djokovic showing why he is the world number 1. Whether it was his domination on Friday or his sheer will to come through turning his ankle on Sunday, you have to be impressed by the guy. His competitive fire is second to none. For a guy who early in his career had a reputation for going "walkabout" and retiring from matches if he didn't feel exactly perfect, he has shown over the last couple of years that he has become the complete player both on court and mentally.

4. Ilija Bozoljac. How could anybody walk away from the doubles match and not be at least mentally rooting for him? He came in ranked in the 1100's in doubles and played absolutely out of his mind in a match they had to have. I now dream of being able to hit anything remotely resembling his backhand return down the alley. That thing was a display of sheer beauty and violence. Even if his win resulted in disappointment for the US squad, the trues tennis fan should be able to tip their hat and acknowledge one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory.

ERRORS:

1. U.S. team engagement. Hopefully I won't get nailed for this opinion. I thought the American team showed a real lack of engagement on the bench. Between the singles guys just up and disappearing and them texting and playing around on their phones during matches, I was severely underwhelmed with the team's enthusiasm. To me, they all just looked obligated to be there. Even when they were engaged, it was not to the level that the Serbian team was. Passion is a must for Davis Cup. It gets the crowd into it and can definitely swing the momentum. It nearly cost the U.S. in the last round against Brazil and I think it was a factor here.

2. Altitude/Court Surface. Well, this was a choice that seemed to backfire. The altitude and faster court seemed to help the Serbians more than the U.S. squad. In singles, we looked like we struggled to find our range while Djokovic and Troicki played smart, opportunistic tennis.. In doubles, the Serbians were hitting out on the ball while the Bryans looked a bit tentative.

3. Strategy. I felt like the Serbian team made the better adjustments throughout the weekend. They played to their own strengths and found weaknesses in the Americans game. On the U.S. side, some of the decisions were kind of head scratchers. I think at some point, I would have been done giving Bozoljac backhand side serves on crucial points.......

Overall, this was the most exciting weekend of tennis in Idaho ever. To have the #1 player in the world and the #1 doubles team of all time in our city playing for their countries was just an awesome sight to see. I got to meet players and coaches from both sides and all of them were 100% genuinely excited to be in Boise and had a great experience. Hats off to Serbia for pulling through and my hopes are that the U.S. will come out strong and hungry in next year's World Group. How did you feel about the Davis Cup tie in Boise?