Team USA is already on the brink of another first-round Davis Cup victory after Sam Querrey and John Isner took care of business at home on Friday. Querrey hammered Thomaz Bellucci and Isner got the best of Thiago Alves.
Sam Querrey held all 15 of his service games and did not face a single break point as he rolled over Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening rubber of the first-round Davis Cup tie between the United States and Brazil on Friday afternoon. Querrey blasted 15 aces and lost a mere 12 service points to prevail in one hour and 39 minutes.
Bellucci was coming off an opening-round Australian Open blowout loss to Blaz Kavcic and he never came close to getting his game back in shape on an indoor hard court–nowhere near his favorite surface. The 36th-ranked Brazilian struck 30 winners (12 on serve) compared to 43 errors.
Querrey did not break until 4-3 in the first set, when his opponent committed three forehand errors followed by a double-fault. The next two sets, however, featured immediate breaks. Querrey broke for 1-0 advantages in both the second and the third to completely run away with the victory.
“I thought I serve great the whole match,” Querrey noted. “I hit my forehand really well.”
When asked about the advantages of playing at home (this one in Jacksonville, FL), Querrey responded: “It’s huge. This is the court we like. This is my first home tie and these Davis Cup weeks are so much fun. It’s fun to get away from the individual part of tennis.”
The 6’6” American is now 2-5 lifetime in Davis Cup singles action and this was his first career win in a live rubber.
John Isner followed up his occasional doubles partner’s feat by picking up his first win of the 2013 season in the form of a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 defeat of Thiago Alves. More importantly than getting on track individually, Isner gave his team a borderline insurmountable 2-0 advantage over Brazil.
The 6’9” American lost his Sydney opener (to countryman Ryan Harrison) and was then forced out of the Australian Open due to a knee injury. However, he wasted no time shifting into gear for Davis Cup–which has become one of his favorite settings. Isner, who scored road wins in last year’s team competition over Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, broke Alves right away for a 2-0 lead in the first set. The world No. 16 held the rest of the way without facing a break point.
An inspired Alves battled admirably in the second. He had constantly had his opponent on the ropes, holding most of his service games with ease while earning three break chances of his own. Two of those were set points in the 10th game, but Isner thwarted both with aces. Alves had an early 3-1 advantage in the ensuing tiebreaker only to see Isner get the mini-break back with a winning forehand volley. With momentum in hand, Isner secured another mini-break for 5-3 then delivered consecutive aces at 5-4 and 6-4.
It was all but over when the crowd favorite seized his second break of the day at 4-2 in the third. Alves managed a relatively meaningless hold at 2-5 before Isner finished the job with a love hold.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgG2WEzHDHY]
“It’s obviously the best part of my game,” Isner said when asked how his serve bailed him out of a tight second set. “I rely on it a lot and I did so today…. This was my seventh (Davis Cup) match and my first one ever at home, so that’s a bit abnormal. Instead of a nine-hour flight I drove three hours from home. It was absolutely perfect for me.”
Team USA can clinch victory on Saturday when Bob and Mike Bryan go up against a formidable Brazilian doubles team consisting of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares.
great photos, Rick….keep them coming!!!