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Marat Safin lost in two tiebreak sets to Andy Roddick.

Andy Roddick appears to have found his top form again in Houston. The question is: Will it be good enough to topple the seemingly invincible Roger Federer in the final?

On Thursday, Roddick and Federer wrapped up semifinal places at the Tennis Masters Cup Houston. Roddick out-clutched Marat Safin 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), while Federer amazingly registered his 21st win in a row over a Top-10 opponent, taking down Carlos Moya 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. On Friday, the other two spots in the semis will be nailed down, when Lleyton Hewitt takes on Gaston Gaudio and Safin faces Tim Henman.

Roddick confused Safin with some off-pace stuff and adeptly mixed in low balls. His backhand slice is improving and he's sticking his two-hander with more confidence. He says he's working on his athleticism, which will surely aid him at net, on his passing shots and with his defensive game from the backcourt.

"He knew that if he played only topspin to my backhand, he wouldn't have a chance, not even close," said Safin. "So he had to do something else, which was slice, try to mix it up a little more, try to keep it low, so I wouldn't be able to create anything from the position. … He was playing smart. Otherwise he would run a lot. But he was trying to keep it low so I would not be able to make winners, not go down the line strong. It was pretty smart of him."

Henman also says his backhand is improving. He certainly showed it off a 6-2, 6-2 romp over the rusty Guillermo Coria.

"I felt one of the aspects that I've done a lot better in these two matches is really hit over my backhand," said Henman. "I've certainly tried to be more aggressive off that side and hit the backhand down the line to open up the court. I think then if I can get into the net, I've been pretty effective."

Can Spadea snag Fish's DC spot
From the sounds of it, Mardy Fish will have to have an awful week of practice to lose his spot to fifth man Vince Spadea in Davis Cup. Yes, Captain Pat McEnroe said that Fish isn't a lock to play, but he's been in Fish's corner for at least two years and has already stated that he doesn't believe in Spadea in big matches. McEnroe's decision to bring Spadea along as a possible replacement player was a sound one, because Spadea is a backboard on clay and in case someone gets hurt, at least a veteran's chance of out-steadying one of the Spaniards if they are having a bad day. Robby Ginepri doesn't, which is one reason why Vince was given the nod.

"I'm leaning towards Mardy playing, but that's not a lock," McEnroe said. "I told Vince to come over there with the idea that he can play. Last year in Slovakia, I was leaning towards James Blake playing the singles match and Mardy ended up playing. That will be the decision that will come the day or two before the match. But, as I said, Mardy's had the experience, so I would lean towards him. But Vince is coming over in my mind as a guy that can potentially play."

That's exactly what a captain should be saying in a potentially disruptive situation. Spadea publicly lobbied for a chance to play and, rightfully so, got it. But if you read McEnroe's comments closely the last few weeks, he doesn't believe that Vince has the firepower to take down the likes of Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Rafael Nadal on dirt. Even though Fish has had a mediocre fall, McEnroe believes that he does.

"He's got a tremendous game," McEnroe said. "He's got a great serve. He's a natural player. I think as he gets stronger and gets fitter, he's got the kind of game that basically he can dictate the play on any surface. He hasn't played much on clay this year, but he's a guy that's played a lot of clay when he was younger. He grew up in Florida. He's won some matches in his career. But clearly I'm not going to sit here and say it's his best surface. It's not. He's a good fast court player. I think he's got the type of game that can translate well to different surfaces. And I believe in him. He's had some great moments for us. He won a huge match for us last year in Slovakia on clay, that was a key match for us, probably the biggest single match we've had since I've been the captain was that one win he had. We were down 1-0. Roddick had lost. We were away, crazy crowd. So that was a big match for him to win of the. I think he's got the capability of playing well on a big occasion."

McEnroe added that his team – which also includes Andy Roddick and the Bryan Brothers – feels good about his decision to bring Vince along. Sure they might, but it's hard to imagine Fish does. Team leader Roddick has known Spadea for a long time and is supporting the decision. But the prideful Fish is the one's whose spot is at risk. It's not unreasonable to think that his stomach must be churning.

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA

Mardy Fish seems secure in the No. 2 singles spot for the US team versus Spain.

"Vince is going to be welcomed onto the team," McEnroe said. "He came to the Olympics with us. He was very positive to me when he spoke. He said, 'I'm in the gym, I'm getting myself ready. Whatever you need me there to do, whether it's be ready to play or be a practice guy.' So I was extremely happy with his attitude."

McEnroe is being pretty realistic about his squad's chances, but still thinks that Fish can pull off a singles win. "The key for us is going to be to keep our heads down and to play, and not try to let the crowd influence the way we play.
Now, if they're going to play great, that's fine. But we have to try to play the way that we can play.

"Obviously, with Moya as their No. 1 guy right now, he played pretty well down here in Houston. Ferrero is a little bit of a question mark. He hasn't played that much. But he's obviously gearing himself up for the Davis Cup final. And then they've got Nadal and Robredo, who are a very good doubles team, and either one of them also could step in and be very tough singles players. They've got great players. They're very good on clay, and we know that we're the underdog."

Drysdale: 'It's a potential 3-2 win for the US'
His broadcast partner on ESPN, Cliff Drysdale, sees it differently. "The way to win it is simple," Drysdale said. "Roddick has to win both of his singles matches and the Bryan brothers have got to win the doubles. All of those things are within reach.

"Ferrero has not had a good year. I think my money would definitely be on Roddick to beat him. Against Moya , it's more problematic. But I would make that close to a 50/50 call between the two, notwithstanding that it's on clay. I don't care about Spain because Roddick has been there before with the audience against him. So, to me, that's not a factor. This guy, he is hugely single-minded and focused when he plays, regardless of where he plays. And the doubles boys are a great team. I don't expect Fish to be able to win either one of his second matches or indeed Vince if he gets to play. So I think it's 3-2. I think it's a potential 3-2 for the US."

Serena Looks Okay after muscle pull; Shot Spot Speculation
It looks like Serena Williams didn't tear her abdomen in her three-set loss to Maria Sharapova in the WTA Championships final on Monday, or she wouldn't have played an exo against Venus in Detroit on Thursday. Reports have it that Serena was still powder puffing her serve, but she wouldn't even have been able to do that if she had a tear. Of course, she taking a big risk playing three exos this week.

Drysdale went out on a big limb on Thursday, saying that the USTA is sure to employ the Shot Spot technology at the US Open next year.

"It will happen by the US Open next year. You can go to the bank on that one," he said. "By the US Open, it will be a line-calling technology that will be used. I'm hoping that with my certainty on that subject that I can convince or we can convince the Australians that they should be the first. It could happen as soon as Australia and at the latest it will happen at the US Open. I'm thrilled about it because tennis needs it for a variety of reasons, one, of which, the main one being the viewing public, the second to that the live audience, and thirdly just because we don't need more repetitions of what we've seen over the past year with people getting hooked out of matches."

Drysdale said that he's merely speculating. There's little doubt that some large tournament will make an attempt to use Shot Spot, but there's huge problems, let alone massive expenses, involved in the move. If the players agree that the technology will only be used on the show courts, it's pretty much a lock. But are the players willing to do so, when most of them know full well that they have a good chance of being stuck out on a Court 16 at one of Slams without the technology in place? How is a player going to feel if he/she gets hooked on match point against the eventual winner? Not very well. But Drysdale makes a good call when he says that if Shot Spot is going to make it anywhere, it will be in NY, NY.

"The US Open is more subject to change than any of the other Slams, because I think they understand the public," he said. "I think they understand the game better than any other Slam. That's why I'm convinced it's going to happen there."