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American Worry About Facing Slovaks On Clay

PMac: It's put up or shut up time for US Davis Cup team

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

If the US is to be serious force in Davis Cup again, it's time for kiddy corps of Andy Roddick, James Blake, Taylor Dent, Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri to climb out of the sandbox and on to the monkey bars.

After the US Davis Cup team drew an away match against the Slovak Republic in the World group Davis Cup playoff Sept. 19-21 at a site to be determined, US captain Patrick McEnroe said that his team cannot use youth and inexperience as an excuse any longer. He believes that his squad – which has lost its last three away ties – has it in them to win the whole shebang.

" I think so. I really do," said McEnroe, whose teams have lost in the first round two of the last three years and reached the semis in 2002. "I said it and I honestly believe it, that we had a chance to do some real damage this year. But, it's time. It's put-up or shut-up time basically. It's enough of 'we're young' and enough of 'we're getting experience.' That has to start from me and my expectations of the team. I told them that after we lost in Croatia. 'It's time for us to perform. You guys are young, but you've all been out there now for a couple of years, and it's time to enjoy what we're doing.' We always want these guys to enjoy the Davis Cup experience, but we've got to be professionals. This is tough. You don't go on the road and just have fun and think it's going to be all fun and games and you're going to win. You have to go out there with the toughness and an attitude. The excuses that we're young and we're getting experience, I think we've used all them up."

The US and the Slovak Republic met in the first round of the '02 Davis Cup in Oklahoma City, with the US winning 5-0. However, neither of the Slovak Republic's top two players ­ Karol Kucera and Dominic Hrbaty ­ played. It is highly probable that the Slovaks will play the tie on red clay, where the US is vulnerable. In the '02 semis, the US fell to France at Roland Garros on dirt. McEnroe said that the team cannot afford to get rattled.

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