DC site had nice summary of the past US-Russia ties:
www.daviscup.com/news/newsarticle.asp?articleid=14384Past USA-Russia Davis Cup clashes It seems strange that two countries that have such illustrious Davis Cup pasts should have met just three times in the competition, but this year’s Davis Cup by BNP Paribas final will be only the fourth meeting between the two tennis giants. They never once played each other during the Soviet era, but the three ties they have contested in the last 12 years have certainly supplied their fair share of drama.
Moscow, 1995 final – There’s a belief in some tennis circles that Pete Sampras was always somewhat half-hearted about the Davis Cup. It’s a little unfair – he played 28 rubbers in 19 ties over 10 years, recovering his desire after a nightmare debut in the 1991 final when no-one was going to stop the French winning in Lyon. But if his enthusiasm for the competition waned in later years, it was probably because he spilled blood and guts in the 1995 final and never felt he got quite the credit he deserved.
Despite his domination of world tennis, clay was never Sampras’ best surface, and the slower the clay, the more vulnerable he was. So when he stepped out for the first rubber of the 1995 final on the heavy claycourt that had helped Russia beat Germany two months earlier in an exhilarating semifinal, and on the other side of the net was Russia’s hero from that semi, Andrei Chesnokov, the task facing Sampras was massive. He was also vulnerable emotionally, as his coach Tim Gullikson – twin brother of the US Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson – was in the final throes of brain cancer that was to end his life six months later.
Knowing a victory over Chesnokov was key to American chances in the final, Sampras gave everything in a three-hour 40-minute dogfight that saw him win 6-4 in the fifth. He limped badly for much of the fifth set, but his aggressive tactics finally paid off. When a Chesnokov backhand went into the net on Sampras’ second match point, Sampras fell to the ground, his hamstrings having seized up in painful cramps. He had to be helped off the court, and never shook hands with Chesnokov.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov then beat Jim Courier in three tights set to leave the final at 1-1, but with Russia favourites for the doubles, the US looked in poor shape on Friday night. Miraculously – sceptically, some might say – Sampras was not only fit for the reverse singles but for the doubles too. He and Todd Martin upset the expectations by beating Kafelnikov and the doubles specialist Andrei Olhovskiy, which left Sampras able to claim the cup for America in the first reverse singles against Kafelnikov.
It was a massive occasion. Though Russia’s president and No 1 tennis fan Boris Yeltsin was still recovering from heart problems, in attendance were the Russian prime minister, deputy prime minister, foreign minister, chief presidential aide, the mayor of Moscow, and countless lesser celebrities. They had come to see their proven star Kafelnikov beat the US’s wounded tiger, and Sampras was not likely to last a long match. But freed from the need to play ‘claycourt tennis’, Sampras resorted to his natural attacking game, and beat Kafelnikov 62 64 76(4). The Washington Post described it as “probably his best clay court performance ever”, opening its report: “They said Pete Sampras wasn’t supposed to be a great claycourt player. They said he would be the weak link for the United States in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russia. Trouble is, they forgot to tell Pete Sampras.”
The other trouble was that no-one told anyone that night that it would be at least another 12 years before the US was to win the Davis Cup again.
Stone Mountain, 1998 first round – Stone Mountain, the scene of the nightmarish ‘Callenwolde’ from Pat Conroy’s epic novel The Prince of Tides, was almost the scene of a nightmare defeat for the USA three years later. It was certainly the tie that sowed the seeds of Russia’s first Davis Cup by BNP Paribas triumph in 2002.
On the courts that hosted the tennis event at the Atlanta Olympics two years earlier, the gold medallist Andre Agassi found himself up against a little-known 18-year-old, Marat Safin. The Russian made an impressive Davis Cup debut, but still lost in straight sets as Agassi cancelled out Kafelnikov’s earlier five-set win over Courier.
With Todd Martin and Richey Reneberg beating Kafelnikov and Safin in a four-set doubles, it seemed the game was up for Russia. But then, as the tie moved into a fourth day following rain, Kafelnikov delivered a superb display to break Agassi’s record-equalling 16-match unbeaten streak in the Davis Cup.
Still the Americans seemed to be favourites, as they had never lost a tie when Courier was on the team, and the former world No 1, playing his 11th tie, was up against the Russian rookie. But then Safin, ranked 170, took the first set 6-0 and American nerves began to shake. They shook even more when Safin opened up a 4-1 lead in the second, but then Courier changed tactics. Instead of matching Safin’s power, he started giving him less power to play off. The match turned. Safin still managed to win the third set, but when Courier won the fourth, he was into the 29th five-setter of his career, while Safin was in his first. It took just one break for Courier to seal victory 6-4 in the fifth.
The benefit to Russia was to come in the experience Safin gained. Within two years Russia had two world-class players, not one, and by the end of 2002, the Russians were Davis Cup champions.
Moscow, 2006 semifinal – The tie that will forever be remembered for Dmitry Tursunov’s 17-15 victory over Andy Roddick was really decided on the opening day. Needing to erase their jinx on away clay, the Americans seemed blessed when it emerged that Nikolay Davydenko, Russia’s world No 3, was out of Friday’s singles, but Mikhail Youzhny’s four-sets victory over James Blake did the damage after Safin had beaten Roddick.
One day the story of what really happened behind the closed doors of the Russian locker room may be told. The makeshift claycourt had been brought back to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium largely for Davydenko’s benefit, but he was cold-shouldered by Russia’s captain Shamil Tarpischev for the whole weekend, not even playing the dead rubber. The official line was that he had not overcome a bug picked up in flying from the US Open to Moscow via the tournament in Beijing, but rumours circulated that Tarpischev was distinctly unamused at Davydenko’s decision to go to China, and those rumours have never been totally scotched.
Yet it is testimony to the half-dozen players Tarpischev had at his disposal that he could afford to leave out Davydenko and still win comfortably. Safin was too good on clay for Roddick. Blake started brightly against Youzhny, but the Russian always seemed in control. Bob and Mike Bryan then gave a masterclass of doubles, conceding just nine games against Tursunov and Youzhny in a 97-minute third rubber.
After such a drubbing, few expected Tursunov to play singles on the final day, but with Davydenko still shunned, Tursunov got the call-up that seemed to play into Roddick’s hands. A Muscovite who has lived half his life in California (and might have been an American citizen but for US immigration bureaucracy), he was magnificent for two sets, looking a natural claycourter when clay was by far his worst surface. Yet slowly Roddick clawed his way into the match, winning the third and fourth sets, and when he broke to lead 6-5 in the fifth, the tie looked to be heading for a live deciding rubber. But Tursunov plays without apparent nerves, and bounced back to level. Roddick successfully saved three match points, but on the fourth left himself stranded with a crosscourt approach shot, and Tursunov caressed a backhand down the line to see Russia into the final.
Here's hoping it'll be the right decision for him.
There's always next year.
