Fish to Replace Roddick on U.S. Davis Cup Squad for 2009 Quarterfinals at Croatia
July 6, 2009
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe announced today that Mardy Fish will replace Andy Roddick on the U.S. Davis Cup team that will face Croatia this weekend in the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal match on an indoor clay court in Porec, Croatia.
“Mardy is a Davis Cup veteran and we appreciate his willingness to join the team on short notice. He has been playing well and we are glad to have him back in the singles lineup,” said McEnroe. “Andy had a great run at Wimbledon. He battled for more than four hours yesterday and fought hard to reach the final. Understandably, his body is not up for the rigors of Davis Cup in such a short turnaround. Andy has been a stalwart for this team the past 9 years and his dedication to Davis Cup and his teammates is unquestioned.”
Fish, who was the No. 1 seed at this week’s Campbell’s Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, R.I., will join James Blake, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in Croatia on Tuesday.
Roddick suffered an injured right hip flexor during his five-set loss in the Wimbledon singles final yesterday. He had played in 18 consecutive Davis Cup matches, tied for the second longest streak in U.S. Davis Cup history with current teammate Mike Bryan. Coincidentally, the only other tie Roddick has missed since joining the U.S. Davis Cup team was the 2003 first round at Croatia after suffering a wrist injury during his epic five-set win over Younes El Aynaoui en route to the Australian Open semifinals.
Currently ranked No. 23 in the world, Fish will be making his eighth appearance for the U.S. Davis Cup team and owns a 6-5 record overall (4-4 in singles and 2-1 in doubles). He replaced Bob Bryan during the 2008 semifinals at Spain the week before his wedding to “Deal or No Deal” model Stacey Gardner and teamed with Mike Bryan to win the doubles point. Prior to that, Fish last played for the U.S. in 2004, helping the team reach the final.