Tarpischev pulls Tursunov out of his hat v. Roddick

	Mal Taam/MALTphoto Dmitry Tursunov is Russia's surprise singles player for Friday.

With Davydenko struggling both mentally and physically and owning an atrocious 0-11 record against Americans Andy Roddick and James Blake, the wily Russian captain gave the nod to Tursunov to face Roddick, the same man who grabbed a highly dramatic 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 17-15 semifinal clincher over America's top player in a record 4 hours and 48 minutes on dirt in Moscow last year.

But Roddick does own a 2-1 record against Tursunov and has beaten him on hard courts. Plus, he's 19-2 at home and has never lost a Davis Cup match indoors in the US.

Roddick didn't seem too concerned that it be the semi-relentless baseliner across the net, instead of Davydenko, who freezes up against him.

"I don't need any added hunger, I promise you that," Roddick said. "I don't see a lot of relevance between the two just because of how different the court surfaces are. We've played since that match. So I think people will be talking about it a lot more than I'm thinking about it. I'm just going out and looking to try to get us the lead."

If Roddick manages to do so, US Captain Patrick McEnroe will let out a huge sigh of relief, as the struggling James Blake will face Mikhail Youzhny in the second match. Youzhny bested Blake last year in Moscow in their only contest. Tursunov and Blake have never faced off.

Davydenko seemed to take the demotion lightly, as he was joking with Tarpischev throughout the day's draw ceremony. He was named to play doubles with Igor Andreev, but even that position is tenuous as Tarpischev frequently fiddles with his doubles team and Davydenko has never been an impressive doubles player.

The Bryans are all but a lock to win on Saturday, so Russia is hoping that they can snare two wins over Blake and hope that Tursunov - who had a spotty year - can rediscover his West Coast magic over Roddick.

"It was our captain's Christmas gift for me," Tursunov said with a smile.

While Tarpischev acknowledged that the US is favored on the fast indoor hardcourts, he knows he has more options in singles than McEnroe.

"The choice of Tursunov was made for tactical reasons," he said. "We have less chance with the American team here on this kind of court. But Tursunov was able to win on the surface that was different from what we're having now, so we're going to utilize him. We have resources. We are very aware of the strengths of both the American team and our team. This is what dictated our nominations for the first match. Whether our reasons were correct or not, we'll see."

Those reasons include Tursunov's ability to bang with Roddick from the baseline and hold his own on his service games, if he's in a good rhythm. But Tursunov is enigmatic, which off court makes him one of the ATP Tour's most delightful players, but on court, often plays against him as he can lose focus. Hence, his drop out of the Top 30 this year. However, he is 5-0 in Davis Cup.

In fact, no players here outside of the Bryans had have great falls on tour. Roddick managed to qualify for Shanghai and looked good the first few days and then was buried by Roger Federer and David Ferrer. After flaming out to Tommy Haas at the US Open, Blake was unable to notch an impressive victory in the fall and failed to qualify for Shanghai. He also lost his Davis Cup opener against Sweden to Thomas Johansson. No. 19 Youzhny took some quick autumn losses to Nicolas Kiefer and Rafael Nadal. Tursunov seems to be good for one solid tournament every two months.

In Davis Cup, it's hard to know what all this means, but defending champ Russia is not to be taken lightly in singles. Don't put it past Tarpischev to throw Tursunov and Youzhny in doubles on Saturday against the Bryans, and then chuck Davydenko and Igor Andreev into Sunday's singles mix.

"All I can say is that we have a strong team and they're versatile," Tarpischev said. "With this team, we won two victories. We hope that we'll do equally well here. It's very prestigious for us and a great honor for us to participate in this event."

Nonetheless, the US will be favored, simply because Roddick and the Bryans are nearly impenetrable at home. Blake is another story, but even he has nutted up when he doesn't have to drag himself overseas. Youzhny is a momentum player with talent, but he can be hit through.

"This time I feel like I won't need to leave my comfort zone as much as I do on clay and I'll be able to hopefully go after my shots, be aggressive and still play the way I want to play on a surface that suits me much better," Blake said. "But that being said, I know he's an excellent player and he's not going to make that very easy for me. He's going to try to do everything he can to get me out of my comfort zone. He has unbelievable timing, great returns, is a great competitor, so I know it won't be easy. But I feel like I've prepared as well as I can and I feel good on this surface and ready to play my game."

This tie is critical to the entire US team, all who are heavily emotionally invested in breaking the US' 11-year Cup drought. It's America's first home final since 1992 and given the depth of the international field and the US's weakness on clay, the next one could be a long time coming.

"We are ready," said Mike Bryan. "We have a great bunch of guys here. I think it's a little bit luck of the draw. If we played that final in '04 at home (they lost to Spain in Seville), we'd probably have a Cup by now. But every year is different. It's just how it stacks up in the draw. We want to seize this opportunity. This is our best shot. We never know if we're going to get in the luck of the draw again and get back to a home tie in the final. So this is the one. Could be the only chance we'll see."

	Mark Lyons Sam Querrey is training at an ATP college in Florida this week.

Notes: Querrey only prominent US man missing; Kafelnikov, Spears
Nearly every US player of note is in Portland. Outside of the DC starting four, former players Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri are on hand, as are up-and-comers John Isner and Donald Young. Conspicuous by his absence is No. 64-ranked Sam Querrey, certainly still an up-and-comer and who went to Sweden with the team as practice partner. Querrey, 20, spent much of this week in Florida at the ATP college

"I didn't want to go this time, "Querrey told TennisReporters.net. "I've been at four other ties as practice player. I've been training. I might miss it, but not enough to regret my decision. Patrick might have been a little surprised, but not too bummed out. I wanted to keep working with my trainer and coach [Grant Doyle] than to go up there, even though it would have been good practice with some of the guys. But it is an individual sport. The next time I go to Davis Cup, I want to go as player."

The US lineup will be tough to crack for Querrey, but he's hoping to halve his ranking next year. He does plan on watching the tie on TV.

"I'm not sure if the guys win they might say, 'We will give other guys a shot.' Or they might keep playing. But if I keep working hard and winning, I hope I can earn a spot on the team."

Two-time Slam champ Yevgeny Kafelnikov is in the house, doing analysis for Russian TV. He's put on more than a few pounds. He acknowledged that Russia would have a better chance with him on the team.

"Unfortunately that time has gone by," he said with a laugh. "America is the favorite."

When asked why Davydenko fares so poorly against Roddick and Blake, he said, "There must be an explanation for that, but I don't know what it is. He's consistent, but not when he plays those two."

Our prayers go out to Abigail Spears' mom, Margo, who is battling cancer and recently had a stroke. Spears is at home with her mom in Colorado helping out as much as she can. She says her mom is completely behind her attempt to re-enter the Top 100 and she'll travel to Florida soon to participate in a USTA training camp with the likes of Jamea Jackson and maybe Shenay Perry, who underwent a difficult knee surgery. It's been a tough year emotionally for the Spears family, but Abigail says they've all grown closer and her mother is battling hard. More on this in December.… Spears' solid results this fall came from working with Jill Craybas' coach, Raj Chaudhuri, who has also tutored Laura Granville. Apparently, Chaudhuri is leaving the tour to study guitar at a music school in Milwaukee.

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