The Battle in Bogota: U.S. vs. Colombia in Davis Cup

High up in the Andes Mountains lies the city of Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of Colombia. Here at the bullring La Santamar�a is where the United States and Colombia will contest their Davis Cup World Group playoff. With an altitude of more than 8,000 feet, the conditions are brutal, and the battle between the two nations promises to be fierce.For the Americans, it?s a must-win tie. A loss would relegate them to the Americas Zone, a symbolic slap in the face for any Grand Slam-hosting nation. Not so for the Colombians, they have had to claw their way up the zonal ladder over the years to reach their first ever World Group playoff tie. For most Americans, the name Colombia brings up images of danger, drugs and violence. But Colombians would like the U.S. and rest of the world to know that those dark days are over. The two major drug cartels have been knocked out of operation and the armed resistance groups have been corralled into demilitarized zones. They don?t deny their history, but Colombia has moved on. Here they like to say that tough times don?t last, but tough people do. The U.S. team is led by Patrick McEnroe as captain, and Jay Berger as coach. Mardy Fish is now in the role of veteran and big brother. Sam Querrey and John Isner are the new guns for hire taking over from Andy Roddick and James Blake. And young Ryan Harrison looks to be built battleship tough and has earned his spot on the team. The practice partners are rookies Chase Buchannan and Andrea Collarini. One of the U.S. team?s traditions is for the rookies to make a speech during the official team dinner. This time the task fell to Chase Buchannan while Andrea Collarini, who recently switched flags from Argentina to the U.S., translated in Spanish.?It is such an honor to be here,? Buchannan began. ?I grew up watching Mardy Fish playing on television. And to be on the same Davis Cup team is a truly a dream come true.?The Colombians have their Davis Cup rituals, too. For the last five years, they have gathered each and every night of the week during ties in the team suite to play poker. They?re a close-knit group, having grown up together and traveled as a team on the ATP tour throughout the year. They know what?s at stake for Colombia?their first chance to perform on the World Group stage. ?We are playing for history,? says Alejandro Falla, the leader of the team who took Roger Federer to five sets in this year?s Wimbledon. ?In order to compete with the best, you have to beat the best. The United States is and has long been a great team. But we believe that this tie is our moment, our destiny to do something great for tennis in Colombia and for our nation.? It won?t be easy. They are playing the role of David against America?s Goliath. ?Our main goal is to get the return of serve in play,? Falla says. ?We want to make the Americans pay a heavy price for each and every point. Obviously, it is to our advantage to make them play long points.?At 8,000 feet, catching your breath isn?t easy even for these well-conditioned athletes, which is to the advantage of the Colombians. The balls are also a factor: For this tie, they will use Tretorn pressureless balls, which aren?t used on the ATP tour.?It?s the balls that are affecting us more than the altitude,? Fish says. ?For that we have to play really aggressive early. We are looking to strike first and finish the points early.?Querrey agrees, and says the whole team must adjust their tactics. ?I am definitely going to attack early in the point,? Querrey says. ?You can?t hit with much spin with these balls in this altitude, so I?m going to hit hard, flat and, hopefully, inside the lines. It is tough to play defense here. Second serves are really difficult and you have to be committed to going for it and hope it drops in. We are the higher-ranked team, but the home site conditions are in their favor. ?It should be a great battle down here in Bogota.?

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