Andy Roddick proved dominant again in the Davis Cup, sending the defending champion United States past France today and into the semifinals against Spain.
Behind a blistering serve, Roddick defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, for the clinching victory in the best-of-five quarterfinal. This was Roddick's second singles victory in three days.
A day after a loss by the No. 1 doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan kept France's hopes alive, Roddick was never threatened in giving the Americans an insurmountable 3-1 lead. While he was held to 17 aces, he lost only 13 points on his serve to improve to 10-0 in clinching situations for the U.S.
Roddick, who had 30 aces in a straight sets win over Michael Llodra on Friday, never faced a break point against Mathieu. Roddick wasn't broken in two matches on the quick, indoor hard-court suited to his style.
He wrapped up the sixth straight Davis Cup victory for the U.S., including last year's win over Russia in the final, with an ace down the middle. He then made a lap around the court with the American flag and his teammates.
Next up for the U.S. is a road matchup against Rafael Nadal and Spain in the semifinals Sept. 19-21, which almost certainly will be on clay.
In other quarterfinals, Russia eliminated the Czech Republic 3-2, and Argentina ousted Sweden 3-1 with a match to play. Spain advanced Saturday by defeating Germany and led 4-0 on Sunday.
Roddick broke Mathieu five times and finished off the match in just more than 90 minutes, rendering meaningless the final match between James Blake and Richard Gasquet.
Roddick improved to 29-9 for the U.S. in Davis Cup matches, trailing only John McEnroe (41) and Andre Agassi (30). His win against the 12th-ranked Mathieu was part of a strong month in which he beat the tour's top three players -- Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
France exited in the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year without its top lineup. Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga flew back to Paris on Wednesday after an MRI exam revealed a cartilage tear in his right knee. Gasquet, the top-ranked Frenchmen at No. 10, was held out until the match against Blake.
Gasquet didn't play in Friday's singles with a blister on his right hand and a sore knee. And even though Gasquet shocked Roddick in last year's Wimbledon quarterfinals, captain Guy Forget went with Mathieu against Roddick.
Mathieu, who wasted two match points on Friday before falling to James Blake in five sets, was no match for the efficient Roddick. Mathieu double-faulted to give Roddick the first set, then was broken again in the second games of the second and third sets.
No comments:
Post a Comment