Return Winners: A look back at the 2007 Davis Cup final

The Result: United States def. Russia, 4-1

The Setting: After becoming Davis Cup captain in 2000, Patrick McEnroe took a different route toward success for the team, eschewing star power and focusing on development through a youth movement. Andy Roddick, James Blake, Robby Ginepri and Mardy Fish were either playing live rubbers or serving prominent roles as practice players. Bob and Mike Bryan actually had to earn their way onto the team as McEnroe challenged them to win a Grand Slam before he named them to the squad.

After losing to Spain on the road in the 2004 final, the U.S. team managed to make it back to the championship weekend in 2007, but this time the Americans would have the home-court advantage, which was definitely needed against Russia. Russia, the defending champion, squeaked through each of its first three ties in ‘07 by the identical score of 3-2, with a live fifth rubber played in all of them. Twice, Igor Andreev won the decider, while Marat Safin clinched the other tie.

The Final: The choice of surface in Portland, Ore.—a fast indoor hard court—was ideally geared to the games of Roddick, Blake and the Bryan brothers. It showed rather quickly as Roddick steamrolled Dmitry Tursunov—one of the game’s biggest hitters—in straight sets. Next up was Blake against Mikhail Youzhny, an all-surface threat and past Davis Cup hero for Russia. Blake won the first two sets, but lost the third in a tiebreak. The fourth went to a tiebreak, too, but Blake held steady to clinch the match, giving the U.S. a 2-0 lead after the first day of singles.

On doubles day, the title was on the racquet of the Bryans, who came into the match with a 12-1 record in Davis Cup and had become a sure point for McEnroe’s team. The Bryans faced Andreev and Davydenko, and overwhelmed the pair, with the win putting the Cup in the hands of the U.S. for the first time since 1995.

32

That’s the number of Davis Cups won by the U.S. in the history of the event, making the nation the all-time titleholder.

6

Over the course of the year, Roddick won all six singles rubbers he played, dropping only two sets in the best-of-five encounters along the way.