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DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND: USA v CZECH REPUBLICFebruary 11, 2007Bob BryanPatrick McEnroeOSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. I was asking Andy if it was nice to get the away tie on clay out of the way first before you go home in April to take on Spain. CAPTAIN McENROE: It's very nice. I mean, obviously we may -- let's hope we have the opportunity to have another away tie later in the year. But to win a match against a good team away on clay I think is a big step for us. Certainly to play Spain at home is an advantage for us. They still have great players, have proved they can play on other surfaces. We're still going to have to play our best. But we're certainly happy to be going home, particularly with the guys playing a lot of events coming up, being able to go straight from Miami right to Winston-Salem. Q. How impressed were you by Andy today? He really stepped up his game against a really top-notch player in Berdych. CAPTAIN McENROE: Yeah, I was just so pleased with his performance, his attitude. I think it's one of his biggest wins, certainly in Davis Cup, one of his most impressive wins. I think it's going to be a big boost for his confidence on all surfaces because he really had to fight hard. Berdych played a great first set. Andy played well in the first set; just played one sort of loose game, got a couple let cords to break him. But Andy, his confidence has really come a long way on this surface. I think that showed. Q. Bob, wasn't your brother supposed to play the last game? BOB BRYAN: No one knew who was going to play. We were in the locker room. He just asked me if I wanted to play. He thought I was the best chance. CAPTAIN McENROE: I told them it was up to those two. I said, One of you guys is playing, so you decide. I know how these guys operate, so... BOB BRYAN: I didn't really want to play, but Mike didn't want to play more than I didn't, so I went. Q. After a match like today, don't you sometimes think it might be good for you to try even more singles in the regular tournaments? BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I mean, I think it would be a year-and-a-half or two-year investment. It's too late in my career to really do that. We have so many doubles goals that I'd have to stop playing doubles, go to small tournaments, work my way up, get in better shape. I don't have the time for that. I have too many goals in doubles. Q. Andy made a great point before when I asked him about his 8-0 unblemished record, he deflected it and he said it was because Bob and Mike gave him that opportunity, that in ties past him and James have split on day one. Do you feel now you've had the same group of guys for five, six ties, that there's something to that, there are a number of team leaders on this squad? CAPTAIN McENROE: Definitely. I think the guys really pull for each other. If one of them goes down on the first day, the other one usually pulls them up. That's happened in reverse for both guys a couple of times. Obviously, these guys have been great for us, the Bryans. But it's certainly nice to have Andy come out up 2-1. I think he really relishes that opportunity, comes out and plays with a lot of confidence. As I said yesterday, Andy looks forward to these big matches. I think he really gets up for the big matches in slams but also in Davis Cup. Today against a top-notch opponent, we knew going in -- Andy knew he had to play really well to win. That's the mark of a great player: when they know they have to play well, they know they have to step up, and they can do it. That's what Andy did today. Q. Considering the 2004 final, the state of the court in Spain, is there a special edge for you in this rematch? CAPTAIN McENROE: I think we're looking forward to it. I think obviously we played them in a big match, it was the final. They made the court as much to their liking as they could, which you expect in Davis Cup. They should expect we'll do the same. Q. You've already named the site for the quarterfinal. Indoor facility, Winston-Salem. Are you happy with that choice? What do you know about the city, remember about it? CAPTAIN McENROE: We had a great tie there back in '01. The fans really came out and supported it. It was actually a relegation match against India. We're expecting a huge crowd there. It's a great facility, great town in the South. Traditionally North Carolina has been one of the great -- they've supported Davis Cup really well. It's the first time Andy and James both played a match, a Davis Cup match, in singles, live matches. To have them come back with all this experience, have Bob and Mike on the team, obviously be playing Spain, marquee country, with we hope Nadal and the rest of their top guys, I think it will be a great event. I think the indoor court suits both of our singles players as opposed to maybe playing on grass, which obviously would suit Andy. James is a little more comfortable on a hard court. I think for both of them, they'll be very comfortable. These guys can pretty much play on anything, so we're not worried about them (referring to the Bryans). Q. Much has been made you haven't won a World Group match on clay in 10 years. Do you feel special about this? CAPTAIN McENROE: It's big for us. I mean, certainly if we go and play let's hope a semi or final away, we'll probably play on clay again. But I think it's certainly big for us as a team to know that, as I think one of you guys asked me yesterday, about the way our guys played, and I felt our play progressed, we're playing better. I think Andy showed that today. If we go play a country like Argentina or Chile or something like that, we're going to have to play even better to beat them. But it's certainly big for us to get that monkey off our back. Q. Historically of course today was very important for the team. Do you see this as a potential turning point towards accomplishing something bigger? CAPTAIN McENROE: I think when I took over, I said I wanted us to be in the hunt every year. To do that we needed a commitment from our best players. We've had that. We haven't quite been able to get all the way, but we've been pretty close. Winning a match like this is big. But I think as you saw this weekend in Davis Cup, there wasn't one match that was 3-0. Every match was 2-1 going into the last day. That tells you there's a lot of depth in the game. There's really not that many easy matches. You just have to take one match at a time. I think we've got as good a chance as anyone. Q. Patrick, it must be exciting to have broken this cycle of clay court losses away from home. CAPTAIN McENROE: Yeah, it is nice to get a win on clay. We'd won a couple of relegations matches away on clay. But to do it in the World Group is big. We're looking forward to the next round against Spain. They took care of us pretty good a couple years ago in the final. Hopefully we can get a court that plays a little to our advantage. We know they have a great team, and we're looking forward to that match in April. Q. Talk about Andy's match a little bit. He fell behind in the first set but picked himself up quite well. PATRICK McENROE: I thought he even played well in the first set, but Tomas was hitting his shots, being aggressive. Andy kept his head on, was very positive. I thought he played one of his best clay court matches. I was really, really happy with his performance, his mindset. He was very, very focused, very concentrated throughout that match, just played better as the match went on. It was just a great win for him. End of FastScripts |
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