Viszont Roddick mégis csak Kroslak ellen játszott (micsoda blama :-) ), és ő is 4 szettben nyert
Azt hiszem a 3. napon már a tartalék(ok) is játszhatnak...
Sampras to lead off for U.S. team against Slovakia
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
February 7, 2002
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Pete Sampras has won a record 13 Grand Slam tournament titles. Karol Beck has played in a grand total of 11 ATP Tour tournaments.
Sampras will play the 19-year-old Beck on Friday to open the Davis Cup first-round match between the United States and Slovakia.
Injuries to Karol Kucera and Dominik Hrbaty left Slovakia with just three players in Oklahoma City, and only two -- Beck and Jan Kroslak -- are scheduled to play this weekend.
Andy Roddick will play Kroslak in Friday's second match of the best-of-five series. Doubles is Saturday, with the reverse singles matches Sunday.
``To lose Kucera and Hrbaty is a pretty big blow to them, but on the other hand these guys are going to come out with nothing to lose,'' Sampras said after Thursday's draw. ``The pressure is on us. We're the heavy favorites. We just need to go out and play well and just take care of our business and not take any match for granted.''
The 19-year-old Roddick -- 3-0 in Davis Cup singles -- is one of three young players scheduled to play for the United States alongside Sampras, who's 30.
Sampras is 14-7 in singles and 18-8 overall in Davis Cup play. If he wins twice against Slovakia, he'll move into a tie for 10th on the U.S. career Davis Cup victories list.
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe decided to use Mardy Fish and James Blake in doubles, leaving 31-year-old Todd Martin out of the mix for the second straight time. Martin also sat out the United States' 4-1 victory over India in October.
``It was based on what I saw in practice and based on the fact that Mardy's just playing really well in doubles and playing a lot more doubles week in and week out,'' McEnroe said.
``I felt this was a good opportunity to give these guys a shot. I think they've earned it. Both Mardy and James have played well as a team together and I felt that they earned their spot.''
The United States has lost five straight Davis Cup doubles matches.
The 20-year-old Fish is making his Davis Cup debut, while this will be the second Davis Cup series for the 22-year-old Blake, who went 2-0 against India.
``It was a dream of mine to play, and to play at such a young age is incredible,'' Fish said. ``I didn't think it was going to come so soon. I just have to thank Patrick for the opportunity.''
Beck, making his Davis Cup debut, and Kroslak, who's played 24 matches in the event, will team in doubles for Slovakia, too.
Slovakia captain Miloslav Mecir acknowledged his team is weakened without Kucera and Hrbaty.
``But what can we do? We brought the best we have after them and they will go and try to fight, that's it,'' he said.
The U.S.-Slovakia winner faces the winner of Morocco-Spain in the second round.
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
January 31, 2002
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Pete Sampras figures playing in the Davis Cup this year might help him avoid the kind of disappointment he had on the court last season.
Sampras, 30, finished last year at No. 10, his lowest ranking since 1989. Winner of a record 13 Grand Slam singles titles, he got shut out for the first time since 1992.
He made a good showing at the Australian Open earlier this month, reaching the round of 16, and said Thursday he hopes playing on the U.S. team, beginning with its first-round match with Slovakia next week, will serve him well.
``It was a feeling that I had last year a little bit,'' Sampras said on a conference call. ``I felt like there were certain times of the year that I had a hard time getting going and Davis Cup definitely -- it means something. You're playing for your teammates, playing for your country, and in these situations it inspires me.''
This will be the eighth year that Sampras has played Davis Cup, but his first series since April 2000, when the United States beat the Czech Republic in the second round. Sampras is 14-7 in singles and 4-1 in doubles in 14 Davis Cup series.
Other members of the U.S. team are Andy Roddick, Todd Martin, James Blake and Mardy Fish. Roddick is 19, Blake 22 and Fish 20. Martin is 31 and has played Davis Cup every year since 1994.
``I'm looking forward to a fun week with a couple of the older guys and some of the young guys,'' Sampras said. ``It's just a unique event that I need to put myself into because there's no question you get motivated to play Davis Cup.''
In announcing the team earlier in the week, captain Patrick McEnroe said he was encouraged by Sampras' play at the Australian Open.
``When you come to a Slam, if Pete is ready, has played some matches that have given him some confidence -- which I think is where Davis Cup comes into play -- he's going to be a factor,'' McEnroe said.
Sampras said he has worked to get into excellent shape for this year, which made his loss to Marat Safin at the Australian Open all the more disappointing. Safin went on to reach the finals.
``It was a tough, tough defeat. I felt like I could have gone all the way there,'' Sampras said.
``The drive is still there. The focus is still there. It's just a matter of going out there and winning tennis matches. And that's my goal and that's what I am hopefully going to have it click this year a few times and win a major or two.''
The first-round Davis Cup matches will be played Feb. 8-10 at the Myriad Convention Center. The United States-Slovakia winner will play the Spain-Morocco winner in early April.
Csak most jutottam idáig, hogy véleményt mondjak.
Sajnos 2 set előnyt adott Pete, így hiába játszott utána jobban, már nem tudott fordítani. Pedig ha 3-0-ról hozza a 4. setben a tiebreak-et, akkor szvsz meglett volna a továbbjutás, és olyan lelki előnnyel, akár a tornagyőzelem is.
Nagyon ideges voltam a meccsen, hiszen rengetegszer döntő pillanatban hibázott Pete. Ennyi elhibázott röptét még nem nagyon láttam tőle. Nem tudom mi lehetett az oka...
Sőt a 4. setben a tiebreakben is 4-2-nél egy nagyon könnyű röptét ütött a hálóba, így 5-2 helyett 4-3 lett, ahonnan vissza tudott jönni az orosz, és megnyerte a meccset.
Fájó a vereség, és ezt én is kurvára utálom, ha valaki kiesésének örülnek. Szurkoljon mindenki a saját kedvencének, de ne baszogassa a másikat!
ennyi
Hajrá Pete!!!
Uv:megkaptam ugyanazt a kérdéssort mint múltkor,és persze egy csomószor elkövettem ugyanazt a hibát én hülye.A lényeg,hogy 23 pont meglegyen,na most múltkor 20 volt,most szerintem legalább 5 ponttal jobb lett így ELVILEG ha Isten is úgy akarja, meglehet.De nagyon bosszantott a dolog,mert ezeket a témákat nem nagyon néztem át,nem gondoltam,hogy megint ez lesz,Így jártam.
Megyek a géptől,holnap majd jövök,remélhetőleg jobb hangulatban.Sziasztok,és Jó éjt!
PETE FOREVER!!!
