United States vs. Colombia Davis Cup by BNP Paribas 2010 World Group Play-off Plaza de Toros La Santamaria Bogota, Colombia * September 17-19 For more information, contact: Tim Curry, +1-914-826-6030, [email protected] PREVIEW NOTES – DAY ONE The 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Play-off between the United States and Colombia will take place from Friday, September 17, to Sunday, September 19, in Bogota, Colombia, at the Plaza de Toros La Santamaria on an outdoor red clay court. The United States is 3-1 in World Group Play-offs since the World Group was instituted in 1981. The country’s last Play-off took place in 2005, when the U.S. defeated Belgium 4-1 in Belgium on a clay court. The U.S.’s only Play-off loss came in 1987, after which it spent one year in the Americas Zone, in 1988. The U.S. has competed in the World Group every year since and holds the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group of any competing nation. Colombia will be competing for a spot in the World Group for the first time in its 43-year history in the competition. The United States and Colombia hold an even 1-1 record in Davis Cup competition. The two nations have not faced each other since 1979, when the U.S. team faced the Colombians in the North & Central America second round at the Cleveland Skating Club in Ohio. The U.S. swept Colombia 5-0 in that tie on an indoor hard court. The U.S. and Colombia also met in the same division and round in 1974, with the U.S. losing 4-1 in Bogota. The U.S. last played in South America in 1997, when the country faced Brazil in the World Group first round on clay and won 4-1. The last time the U.S. played south of the equator was in 2000 in the World Group first round, defeating Zimbabwe 3-2 in a decisive fifth singles match on a hard court. Also, in this tie, the U.S. Davis Cup team will be competing at its highest-ever elevation; Bogota is 8,626 feet above sea level. Since the competition began in 1900, the United States has faced 39, posting a 208-64 record (most wins by any nation in the event). The U.S. has a winning record against 35 countries, a level record with two countries, and a losing record against two nations. The U.S. is undefeated versus 21 countries and holds an active winning streak against 33 of the 39 nations it has faced. ORDER OF PLAY The opening day of play in the best-of-five match series features each country’s No. 1 singles player against the No. 2 player from the opposing country. The exact order of play (which country’s No. 1 plays first) was determined at the Draw Ceremony, which was held today at the Plaza de Toros La Santamaria. The second day of competition features the pivotal doubles match. The event concludes Sunday with the “reverse singles,” starting with each country’s No. 1 player squaring off followed by the No. 2 players. Each match is best-of-five-sets until one nation wins three matches and clinches the tie. The remaining matches, if any, are played as best-of-three sets. DAY/LOCAL TIME EVENT DETAILS/PAIRING Friday, 10 a.m. Singles A: Mardy Fish (USA) vs. Alejandro Falla (COL) Singles B: Sam Querrey (USA) vs. Santiago Giraldo (COL) Saturday, 11 a.m. Doubles: Ryan Harrison/John Isner (USA) vs. Robert Farah/Carlos Salamanca Sunday, 10 a.m. Singles C: Fish (USA) vs. Giraldo Singles D: Querrey (USA) vs. Falla *Team captains may substitute the doubles team up to one hour before the match. CHANGING OF THE GUARD U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe is bringing a new lineup to this World Group Play-off in Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, John Isner and rising American talent Ryan Harrison. For the first time, McEnroe’s lineup will include neither Andy Roddick, James Blake nor the Bryan brothers. This will also be the last tie for McEnroe, the longtime U.S. Davis Cup captain. Currently in his 10th year as captain, McEnroe is the longest-tenured captain in U.S. Davis Cup history. He led the U.S. to its record 32nd Davis Cup title in 2007, its first title since 1995—ending the longest drought in U.S. Davis Cup history. His 16 victories rank second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history behind Tom Gorman’s 18. SINGLES A: MARDY FISH (USA) vs. ALEJANDRO FALLA (COL) MARDY FISH (USA) ALEJANDRO FALLA (COL) 19 World Ranking 64 28 Age 26 Edina, Minn. Birthplace Cali, Colombia Tampa, Fla./Los Angeles Resides Bogota, Colombia 6' 2" Height 6’1” 180 lbs. Weight 169 lbs. Right-handed Plays Left-handed 2000 Turned Pro 2000 Singles Record 229-174 (37-14) Career (2010) 56-70 (14-16) Singles Titles 5 (2) Career (2010) 0 (0) Prize Money $4,690,478 ($899,498) Career (2010) $1,170,154 ($284,024) 4-5 Davis Cup 18-2 Career Singles 1 Head to Head 1 CAREER HEAD-TO-HEAD: Fish vs. Falla (level at 1-1) Year Event Surface Round Winner Score 2008 Los Angles Hard (O) R32 Fish 62 62 2008 Washington, DC Hard (O) R32 Falla 57 64 62 SINGLES B: SAM QUERREY (USA) vs. SANTIAGO GIRALDO (COL) SAM QUERREY (USA) SANTIAGO GIRALDO (COL) 21 World Ranking 61 22 Age 22 San Francisco Birthplace Pereira, Colombia Las Vegas Resides Bogota, Colombia 6' 6" Height 6’2” 200 lbs. Weight 165 lbs. Right-handed Plays Right-handed 2006 Turned Pro 2006 Singles Record 132-101 (38-19) Career (2010) 24-37 (15-18) Singles Titles 6 (4) Career (2010) 0 (0) Prize Money $2,904,371 ($1,174,197) Career (2010) $638,236 ($289,668) 1-2 Davis Cup 9-5 Career Singles First meeting Head to Head First meeting CAREER HEAD-TO-HEAD: Querrey vs. Giraldo (0-0, first meeting) TABLE OF CONTENTS • Initial Rosters • Success in the World Group Play-offs • U.S. Television Schedule • Head-to-Head: U.S. vs. Colombia • Davis Cup Team Comparison: U.S. vs. Colombia • About Plaza de Toros La Santamaria and Bogota, Colombia • Individual Rankings and Records (as of September 13) • U.S. Davis Cup Record Book Preview - Patrick McEnroe • Davis Cup Career Records (thru 2010 first round) • Did You Know? • Playing on Clay • This Week in U.S. Davis Cup History • 2010 Davis Cup Results INITIAL ROSTERS Both captains submitted an initial four-man roster 10 days prior to play, but could change two of the four players originally nominated up to one hour before Thursday’s draw ceremony, when they wee required to submit their official lineups.. UNITED STATES COLOMBIA John Isner Santiago Giraldo Mardy Fish Alejandro Falla Sam Querrey Carlos Salamanca Ryan Harrison Juan Sebastian Cabal Captain Patrick McEnroe Captain Felipe Beron Colombian Captain Beron replaced Cabal with Robert Farah at the Draw Ceremony. DOMESTIC TELEVISION SCHEDULE Tennis Channel will air live daily coverage. Friday’s and Sunday’s singles matches will air live at 11 a.m. ET. Saturday’s doubles match will air live at 12 p.m. (noon) ET. Tennis Channel will continue its Davis Cup primetime tradition and rebroadcast matches nightly at 8 p.m. ET. DAVIS CUP TEAM COMPARISON: UNITED STATES VS. COLOMBIA UNITED STATES DAVIS CUP COMPARISON COLOMBIA 1900 First year played 1959 96 Years played 43 272 (208-64) Ties played 90 (47-43) 29 (56-23) Years in World Group 0 (0-0) (since 1981; including 2010) 32-time Champion Best Finish Advanced to World Group (32-29 in finals) Play-offs this year INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS & RECORDS (thru September 13) INDIVIDUAL SINGLES RESULTS UNITED STATES Singles Doubles SINGLES RECORD TITLES Player Ranking Ranking 2010 Career (2010) Mardy Fish No. 19 No. 47 37-14 229-174 5 (2) Sam Querrey No. 21 No. 34 38-19 132-101 6 (4) John Isner No. 23 No. 35 31-19 77-61 1 (1) Ryan Harrison No. 170 No. 210 4-9 5-10 0 (0) TITLES DOUBLES RECORD (2010) Mardy Fish — No. 47 18-12 117-95 8 (2) Sam Querrey — No. 34 21-10 40-55 2 (2) John Isner — No. 35 20-7 40-32 2 (1) COLOMBIA Singles Doubles SINGLES RECORD TITLES Player Ranking Ranking 2010 Career (2010) Santiago Giraldo No. 61 No. 1149 15-18 24-37 0 (0) Alejando Falla No. 64 No. 332 14-16 56-70 0 (0) Carlos Salamanca No. 144 No. 391 1-0 3-4 0 (0) Juan Sebastian Cabal No. 281 No. 197 1-0 3-2 0 (0) Robert Farah No. 206 No. 297 0-0 0-0 0 U.S. vs. Colombia Head-to-Head Player Breakdown Santiago Giraldo Alejandro Falla Carlos Salamanca Robert Farah Mardy Fish 1-0 (on grass) 1-1 (both on hard) — — Sam Querrey — 1-1 (both on grass) — — John Isner 1-0 (on clay) 2-0 (both on hard) — — Ryan Harrison — — — — U.S. DOUBLES COMBINATION RESULTS Doubles UNITED STATES Doubles Record Team Record (2010) Best Result John Isner/Sam Querrey 21-13 17-6 Winner – 2010 Memphis; Runner-up – 2010 ATP Masters Series Rome Mardy Fish/ John Isner 10-3 DNP Winner – 2008 Newport Quarterfinal – 2009 Australian Open Mardy Fish/ Sam Querrey 7-6 4-1 Winner – 2010 San Jose DAVIS CUP CAREER RECORDS (thru 2010 first round) U.S. DAVIS CUP TEAM Ties Singles Doubles Overall Player Played Record Record Record Mardy Fish 8 4-5 2-1 6-6 Sam Querrey 2 1-3 — 1-3 John Isner 1 0-2 1-0 1-2 Ryan Harrison 0 — — — COLOMBIA DAVIS CUP TEAM Ties Singles Doubles Overall Player Played Record Record Record Santiago Giraldo 10 9-5 — 9-5 Alejandro Falla 18 18-2 9-6 27-8 Carlos Salamanca 19 3-4 10-6 13-10 Juan Sebastian Cabal 4 3-2 1-2 4-4 Robert Farah 0 — — — PLAYING ON CLAY The United States has played 84 Davis Cup ties on clay (71 outdoors, 13 indoors), and has a record of 59-25, posting a better winning percentage (.702) than Colombia, which is 28-25 (.528) in 53 ties on clay.