Monday, July 11, 2011

Davis Cup - US vs Spain

This past weekend Austin was the host of the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup tennis matches. The US took on Spain at the Erwin Center. This was such a huge deal for our city to host. All week the USTA held promotional events leading up to the matches so my friend, Bobbi, Olivia and I braved the heat on Tues afternoon and got to see Andy Roddick hit balls to kids. Look how close we were. Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers were also there hitting on other courts, but Olivia was partial to Andy. Or maybe it's Mommy. ;-) She had a great time playing with the kid size racquets and tennis balls.Friday the first match was Mardy Fish vs Feliciano Lopez and it was awesome except we lost. Five sets of high level tennis. Our seats were on the very top row of the Erwin Center so we could stand up at anytime which was nice since the match lasted 4 hours. After the loss Andy was up next vs David Ferrer. Our crowd was supportive, but a little deflated after the five setter. But the Spanish Armada was in full force. They had at least 2-3 sections of fans who were extremely animated and having a great time. That theme would continue throughout the weekend. Andy played 2 tough sets that he lost 7-6, 7-5 and the 3rd set was a roll for Ferrer 6-3. The best part of the night was that we moved down to the expensive seats and got to see how the rich watch matches...pretty nice.
Saturday brought a renewed spirit because the Bryan Bros were playing the doubles match. They just won Wimbledon and I believe they are considered the best doubles team ever. So we liked our chances. Turned out we were right and had something to cheer for going into Sunday's match.Sunday's match was packed and the crowd was rocking (including the Spanish fans). We started things off with Mardy vs Ferrer. Tons of pressure on Mardy to win so Roddick could play his match. It was another tremendous match. Mardy had lots of break point chances but the "bulldog" Ferrer kept digging out of them. In the end Ferrer held his nerve better than Fish and the US lost in 4 sets, which meant we lost 3-1 and Spain advances to the semis. We hated to see the Spanish so happy but all of the matches were so incredible to watch live. Austin was fortunate to host this international event and we were so glad to be a part of it. USA 2012!

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