2005 Pacific Life Open News
By Alix Ramsay |  March 12, 2005

The plan was to get back to real life as soon as possible. Andy Roddick has spent the past week trying to shake off the disappointment of the Davis Cup and has been champing at the bit waiting to get back to the business of knocking seven bells out of the opposition. Give that man a straight forward opening match and let him vent his frustrations on the hapless sap on the other side of the net.

Alas for Roddick, Fernando Verdasco had other ideas. The world No45 arrived on the stadium court, unwrapped his forehand and proceeded to make a chump out of his illustrious rival. Roddick was in trouble all the way through to the end of the third set when, at last, he began to pull rank to secure the 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win. It was not what Roddick had in mind as the day began but it did make him feel slightly better about his game and himself.

"When you come off something really disappointing, you want to come back and kind of regroup and get involved in something positive right away," he said. "I think it was good to have a tough one and really get through it, kind of dig, even though I didn't feel like I had my best stuff out there. It just gives me an opportunity to get better the next round and not have to wait around two weeks. I think that was big to get through today."

It also served as reminder as to what sort of player Roddick. He is a grand slam champion, he is a former world No1 and even if he felt as miserable as sin in Carson City, he is still one of the best tennis players in the world.

"I think that's the biggest thing that separates the people in the top 10 who perform consistently and some of the guys 40 and 50," he said. "It's that we kind of try to find a way to win, even if we don't feel like we have our best stuff. Today was evidence of that. I think a lot of it's just sticking around, trying to give yourself as many opportunities as possible and trying to bear down when you do get those opportunities."

And at least the memories of the Davis Cup are beginning to recede. They may take a while to vanish entirely and, for the moment, he is still smarting but the healing process has begun.

"There's been enough days in between where I've kind of try to get my mind right and really focus on this tournament," he said. "You know, had it been two days later, then who knows. But fortunately for me, I had five or six days really had some time to get in some practice and kind of get into the groove here and try to forget about last weekend."

Andre Agassi also arrived in the desert with his pride dented and his confidence shaken by the events of the Davis Cup. He, though, is older, wiser and slightly more philosophical about life and his career. He started his recovery with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Wayne Arthurs. Arthurs had been on a roll, not being broken in his last 109 service games. That all came to an end in the third game of the match when he faced one of the best returners the sport has ever seen.

After all these years, Agassi makes it look easy but there is a great deal of work that goes into looking so serene on court. And it takes a great deal of experience and inner confidence to come back from a loss like Agassi's in the Davis Cup.

"If you say I haven't struggled with that, then I should be a poker player in my next life," he said. "Looks can be deceiving, you know. It's not easy. It's never easy. Some days feel better than others. Some days go according to plan. You know, in between all the fun you have, there's work. Work isn't always something that comes easy. But those are the days you ultimately can feel most proud about yourself if you see it through."

Slowly but surely the pride is returning to the US's Davis Cup team. By the end of the week they should be as right as rain.

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