Bill Simons
Reno
When Steph Curry’s three-point shot wavers and he feels like he can’t hit the side of a barn, he’ll drive to the net hoping to get a simple layup, or get to the free-throw line so he can make a foul shot. Just getting the ball in the hoop feels good.
When you’re slumping, small victories and getting back that sweet feel of success is important – confidence matters.
In recent years, America’s Davis Cup team had been adrift. Our coaches – Jim Courier until 2018 and now Mardy Fish – are respected leaders who had fabulous careers. Our team, from the days of John Isner, Sam Querrey and the Bryans to a new generation led by Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Reilly Opelka, fought hard. But the results had been modest.
It’s been years since we’ve gotten into prime-time play in the ever-changing Davis Cup. And in a world where Nadal, Djokovic, Medvedev and Berrettini lurked, it was prudent for us Americans to temper our expectations. In 15 years, we hadn’t come that close to winning, as we did in 2007 when Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers lifted the trophy.
In other words, after a tough 2019 trip to Madrid, no Davis Cup play in 2020 and a humbling November loss in Italy to Colombia, it was time to call in the cavalry, to get the ball in the bucket, to grab some swagger.
Enter what we call the gang of six: a Fish, a Fritz, a Sock, a Ram, a Paul and a Seb (that would be US Davis Cup captain Mardy Fish, the No. 1 American Taylor Fritz, veterans Jack Sock and Rajeev Ram, Tommy Paul and Seb Korda) who came to high altitude Reno on a mission.
Colombia is not the fiercest foe America could have faced. The average ranking of their singles players was 359. But they had a fabulous fighting spirit and one of the best doubles teams in recent years: Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, who won Wimbledon and the US Open and had been No. 1 in the world. But then they didn’t.
Like Colombia’s best singles player, Daniel Elahi Galan, who didn’t suit up for the tie due to injury, Farah, their best doubles player, pulled out at the last hour with a pinched nerve in his neck.
In stepped little-known Nicolas Barrientos. The 34-year-old Colombian is not only a graduate of West Florida University (where he led the Argonauts to the Division II title) he’s a grad, so to speak, of the university of the ATP. Battling in the shadows for many a season, he once rose to No. 237 and is now No. 475. He’s a fine doubles player, having won four challenger titles last year. But he’s no Robert Farah – there’s a reason we’ve never heard his name.
Of course most tennis fans had heard of America’s doubles team. The Nebraska-born Jack Sock has long imposed with a howitzer forehand that punches holes in walls. He reached No. 8 in singles, and in doubles he gained gold and silver Olympic medals, four Slam titles and the No. 2 ranking. Jack’s partner, Walnut Creek, California’s Rajeev Ram, is a former UC Berkeley volunteer coach who’s won two doubles Slam titles, an Olympic silver medal and is now No. 4 in doubles.
Just 14 minutes into the match, Ram, 37, and 29-year-old Sock showed their form. Playing sublime defense, they lofted three adept lobs and took quick advantage of two Sock backhand winners to break the Colombians and go up 3-1 en route to a 29-minute 6-3 first-set win.
In the first game of the second set, Rajeev unleashed a brilliant backhand and an uncanny lob that put the US up a set and a break.
Still, Colombia had its moments. Barrientos hit an inspired between-the-legs winner, and Cabal flicked a wicked around-the-net post trick shot that prompted Sock to joke, “They highlight reeled us…that’s pickleball stuff.” The Colombians had two second-set break points, but Ram stepped up to ram it down their throats.
Too often, Cabal and Berrientos were left to scramble, sprawling on the carpeted court and at times protecting their private parts. They did save three match points but after 1:18 of play, on the Americans’ fourth match point, Sock held serve. And American tennis no longer had to hold its breath.
The 6-3, 6-4 win by Jack and Rajeev clinched the tie 3-0 to put America back in the winner’s column. Sock recalled how he always watched the Bryan brothers close out Davis Cup ties and added that this was different: “It feels great, especially after Turin. Unfortunately, it probably was one of the low weeks for everyone there. It was a down week, a low energy week…To bounce back with a very energetic team, a very positive team, that showed the emotion to the bench, to the captain, to themselves, was awesome. The results we had were because of the energy we had.”
The US, which has a 3-2 winning record over Colombia, is one of 12 nations to qualify, along with four top seeds, for the Davis Cup group stage to be played in Europe. Captain Mardy Fish said, “First step of the year. They’re very tricky. Step one complete and now we’ll move on and try and win this thing.”
