Doubles loss hurt Sweden's chance
Sweden's best chance for winning this Davis Cup tie just ended.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Sweden's best chance for winning this Davis Cup tie just ended.
Winning the doubles match on Saturday was essential for the Swedes. But because they lost, and the U.S. leads 2-1, they'll have to win both singles matches Sunday (ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. ET), in front of a sold-out crowd, to clinch the tie. That's tough when you're playing the No. 2 player in the world, Andy Roddick, in the opening singles match.
It's unlikely that Jonas Bjorkman can beat Roddick in the fourth match on Sunday, but it's quite possible, based on how each played on opening day, that Thomas Enqvist would beat Mardy Fish if there were to be a fifth match.
Everyone on the U.S. team knew the import of this doubles match -- that the quarterfinal could slip away if the Bryan brothers didn't win. That's why it's even more impressive that Bob and Mike Bryan were able to dominate this doubles match in the fashion that they did, winning 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Not since Rick Leach and Jim Pugh teamed up has a U.S. team has won three consecutive Davis Cup doubles matches. U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe again selected the Bryans for this team for good reasons -- not only are they the best team in the world but they play great under pressure.
As for the Swedes, it was disappointing how poorly Bjorkman served in the doubles match. Throughout, his first-serve percentage stayed around 35 percent. His serve was broken four times today, and the Swedes didn't win a point during his service games until the second set. It's impossible to win with those numbers.
It would have been a completely different story if Joachim Johansson, out with a shoulder injury, had been on the team. After the Swedish pair defeated Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs in the first round of Davis Cup, they had a confidence that would have helped them here. Instead they had Thomas Johansson, a great singles player, pair with Bjorkman, but the two had never won a Davis Cup doubles match together.
The Swedes went with the players who would give them the best chance to win, but in the end they really didn't have much of a chance at all.
Sweden captain Mats Wilander now has to decide whether to replace Bjorkman with Robin Soderling in the singles match against Roddick, which they can do up until an hour before the match. It would be tough to ask Soderling to come in and win against Roddick, so expect Wilander to stick with Bjorkman, who will have to play better tennis than what we've seen this weekend.
Playing singles, Bjorkman did what he had to do. In doubles, though, his level dropped. The question will be whether he's able to raise his level to get another win. It's doubtful that anyone right now could beat Roddick on such a big stage on U.S. soil. Also, Bjorkman likely cannot physically compete with Roddick after playing all three days.
