Davis Cup News
Alix Ramsay  |  December 02 , 2004

God is in the detail, or so the expression goes. And if it is true, then there is every chance that Patrick McEnroe is about to make an ungodly mess of the Davis Cup final in Seville.

As expected, McEnroe put forward Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish as his two singles players with Bob and Mike Bryan as his doubles stalwarts - or 'Los Bryans' as they are known around these parts. That left Vince Spadea sitting on the sidelines feeling like a piece of string without a knot in it. His sole contribution to the cause this week has been reduced to being the hitting partner to the chosen few.

As the Spanish captains - in Spain they view the Davis Cup as a group effort and so have Juan Avendano and Jordi Arrese running the show together - have plotted and planned and prepared for the coming three days with close attention to those details, McEnroe has gone with Plan A. Ignoring the form, the ranking and the conditions, he has picked Roddick's best pal, Fish, rather than Spadea, the bloke who could, possibly, cause an upset.

So, on Friday morning poor little Mardy Fish will step out in front of 26,600 (presumably the largest Davis Cup ever)screaming Spanish fans and try to beat Carlos Moya. On clay. On slow, slow clay.

Roddick will then face Rafael Nadal, the surprise package in the Spanish line up. Nadal was given the nod over Juan Carlos Ferrero - much to the amazement of the home supporters - partly due Ferrero's recent lack of form an partly due to Arrese and Avendano's overall strategy. At just 18 years of age, Nadal may not be able to beat Roddick (but, then again, he just might) but he can certainly run him ragged for four or five sets, leaving America's top man tired and drained for Sunday.

The Spanish are not concerning themselves unduly with Roddick. As the world No.2 and the man with the fastest serve on the planet, he ought to be able to win his two matches. So, giving those two points to the Americans - on paper, at least - Spain's two captains have tried to devise a plan to take the other three points.

Moya should beat Fish on the opening day and, if needs be, Ferrero can be called back into the fray to fry Fish on Sunday. That just leaves the doubles where the locals are hoping that a combination of the slow conditions together with Tommy Robredo and Nadal, ably abetted by the partisan crowd, will stop Los Bryans. It is all about the details.

As for Spadea, he must be wondering what he has to do to break into the team. He is ranked more highly than Fish and he has a better clay court record than Fish, but still no one wants him to play.

McEnroe is trying to create a new and united team spirit with his current squad and Spadea - a true individual in a sport of individuals - does not fit into that picture. But McEnroe is in danger of sacrificing a Davis Cup final for the sake of team bonding.

Since he arrived in Spain, Fish has not won a single practice match. In fact, he has only played one match on clay all year - and that was against Alex Bogomolov in Houston back in April. And he lost.

Spadea, meanwhile, reached the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters - on clay - and here has been showing his worth in the practice sessions. Yesterday he was driving Roddick to distraction, and was beating him on the newly laid court here at the Estadio Olimpico. Or he was until McEnroe told him to stop. By that time Roddick had smashed a couple of rackets and was ready to blow a fuse. Practice was making Roddick anything but perfect and McEnroe thought that the session was doing more harm than good. That does not bode well for the coming days.

Spadea may not be everyone's cup of tea but he is a seasoned campaigner. His game is built around patience. Mind-numbing, soul-destroying patience. He will trundle around the baseline until dusk just to get the ball back. It may not win the point but it will stop his opponent from winning it. It is not pretty and it is not entertaining but, when he puts his mind to it, it is effective. And no one wins points for artistic endeavor in a Davis Cup final. Just get the wins on the board, boys, and the cup is yours. That is one minor detail McEnroe may just have overlooked.

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