Well, it looks like the worst-case scenario I outlined in my Premier Power post has come to pass, big-time: Feliciano Lopez really stepped up to strike a huge blow for Spain and a painful one for the U.S., ruining Mardy Fish 8-6 in-the-fifth in the opening rubber of the Davis Cup tie down in Austin.
Then Ferrer once again showed that his dodgy hard court record need not apply when he's playing one of the premiere (pun unintended, as well as painful!) hard court performers of this era. Still, the fact that he won in straights over Andy Roddick is difficult to digest. So this means that the flickering hopes of the U.S. are in the hands of the more-than-capable Bryans, Bob and Mike, who will try to keep the USA alive for a Day Three in Austin.
I'm just hoping that in the locker room this morning, USA captain Jim Courier, grinning maniacally and with a gleam in his eyes, tells his squad, "We got them right where we want them; let's pull off one of the biggest comebacks in Davis Cup history!"
-- Pete