Roddick, Blake too hot to handle

By Nirmal Shekar

WINSTON-SALEM, OCT. 13. In a nation that's witnessed an unprecedented surge of patriotism in the wake of a horrendous tragedy and is living in a perpetual state of nervous panic - if not fear - in the face of what its President calls a ``different kind of war'', a pair of gifted young men winning a couple of tennis matches is not about bring a smile back on every American face.

But, in the rather narrow context of a popular sport - tennis - a few thousand people who came to the Joel Coliseum here on Friday went back home smiling, convinced that they had seen the future of American tennis...and sure too in their minds that it works.

As a red-hot Andy Roddick and the talented young James Blake powered the U.S. team to a 2-0 lead over India in the Davis Cup World Group qualifying round tie, it was obvious that the non playing captain of the American team, Patrick McEnroe, had made the right decision in choosing Blake instead of the experienced Todd Martin.

For Blake, playing in his first Davis Cup rubber, was even more impressive than Roddick as he quelled Leander Paes' challenge for a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory in an hour and 53 minutes. In the opening match, riding a tidal wave of emotions, teenaged superstar Roddick got his team off to a great start as he raced past a rather impressive Harsh Mankad 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in 90 minutes.

``It was a great effort from both the guys. They have prepared hard for this and it paid off,'' said Patrick McEnroe. ``They showed both talent and composure.''

To be sure, both Paes and Mankad did not play poorly, although the always heroic Paes certainly lacked match-sharpness, not having played a competitive singles match since the second round at Wimbledon last June and not having played any kind of match in almost five weeks.

But then, even if he was not quite as fired up as he is expected to be on the Davis Cup stage, Paes had his chances in a match in which he struck to his familiar game-plan. But on the big points, the rustiness showed.

``Lack of matchplay really showed today. I had my chances and didn't take them. But I lost to a better player on the day. James was really sharp,'' said Paes.

Blake was hitting the ball so hard and so well off the ground that the Indian Cup hero's athleticism and skills at the net were not enough on this day to make a difference.

Blake returned serves superbly and hit some blistering passes, often running around his backhand for breathtaking forehand winners.

The turning point

Paes, for his part, brought off some amazing dink volleys and a few good passes but what he would have regretted in the end was the service game he lost from 40-0 early in the second set. That was perhaps the turning point of the match.

After Blake took the first set on a break in the 11th game, Paes broke the American's serve for the first time in the match in the second game of the second set and then ran up a 40-0 lead on serve in the following game.

It was at that point Paes suffered a brief lapse in concentration, something that proved costly. It was the first of three service games that Paes would lose in the second set. From there it was a question of time as Blake broke to 4-2 in the third and then staved off two breakpoints to serve out the match in the ninth game.

``I can't even describe my feelings out there today. My stomach was feeling a little queasy. The turning point of the match was when I broke back in the second set,'' said Blake.

Meanwhile, widely expected to be blasted off the court in quick time, Mankad proved popular opinion wrong as he stood his ground for more than an hour before Roddick stepped on the pedal in the home stretch.

It was two minutes to midnight in India when play began, and once it did, Mankad promised to compete on even terms. The 21-year old from Mumbai, who is on leave from the University of Minnesota to play for his country, served with confidence and made good use of his double handed backhand from the rearcourt as his game clearly reflected the strides he has made this season.

Roddick, for his part, sent down a few bombs that threatened the linesmen and women, as well as the spectators in the lowest row of seats in the stadium, but he was unable to make an impression on Mankad's serves until the seventh game.

But, even in that game, down 15-40, Mankad fended off two breakpoints before Roddick charged ahead on the third, the Indian's backhand sailing wide.

In the second set, Roddick broke serve in the fifth game with some blistering forehands to which the little Indian had no answer. Mankad, moving up, simply couldn't counter Roddick's raw power. By then, Roddick's confidence was soaring and he ran away with the third set and the match in quick time.

Mind set of a champion

On the one hand, it can be argued that Harsh Mankad is relatively inexperienced. For this was only his fourth Davis Cup rubber on Friday. He lost two singles in Sweden in July 2000, also in a World Group qualifying round tie, and in April went down fighting in three sets to Goichi Motomura of Japan in a dead rubber in Tokyo.

But, it is when you compare his career with that of Andy Roddick, at 19, two years younger to Mankad, that you get a perspective of things.

For, this was Roddick's first live rubber in Davis Cup and only the second of his career. And he came in with a rather heavy burden - the status of the No. 1 player of the team - on his young shoulders.

How phenomenal Roddick's progress this year can be gleaned from the fact that he is world ranked No. 15 right now, 45 places higher than the goal he set for himself on New Year's day! Already a U.S. Open quarterfinalist and a victor over such superstars as Pete Sampras and Gustavo Kuerten, the teenager has been riding a wave of confidence.

On the court, Roddick's weapons are obvious. But what is an even bigger asset is his attitude. He has the mind-set of a born champion.

Mankad, for his part, has his own limitations, in terms of height, power and the lack of a single big weapon. In a boxing ring, they'd never have been allowed to swing their fists at each other, but this is tennis... a sport without weight divisions. ``I can take a lot of positives from this match,'' said Mankad. ``I feel like if I can get a little stronger, I can compete with these guys. I need more experience playing at this level too.''

``I was surprised. I thought he played pretty well,'' said Roddick. ``He probably had no pressure. All the pressure was on me.'' Earlier in the day, outside the Joel Coliseum, kids were having a jolly good time at the Smash Tennis and other activities designed for them. Everything seemed normal and the atmosphere appeared to be typical Davis Cup ambience.

But, then, once you got to the doors of the stadium, you realised that this was no easy-come, easy-go festival. The security was so tight that it took this writer, standing at the end of a queue of 20, a good half hour to get past the scanning and frisking point.

The gentlemen in charge of security were as thorough as the ones that you had encountered at the London and Washington airports a few days ago.

But given the unusual circumstances following the September 11 terrorist strikes and the latest FBI bulletin about retaliatory attacks on the United States, nobody here was complaining, really.

``I have never seen anything like this at a Davis Cup tie in the United States. And I have watched quite a few of them over the last 50 years,'' said an old man who was with your correspondent on the shuttle bus from the team hotel to the venue.

Then again, America has never experienced a situation - at home and abroad - quite like what has been forced on the proud nation in the recent weeks.

Sport might even look like a piece of ill-timed comic act in such circumstances, but life goes on, no matter what. And tennis is what some people play for a living, what many people watch for pleasure and everybody has to do what he/she has to do.

At the end of the day, if an event like this can help heal some wounds and bring a smile to a few faces, then it would have been worth it. After all, sport's healing touch can never be under- estimated.

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