Mardy Fish looked lean, fit and ready to disappoint all those fans with an American win. His opponent, Alejandro Falla, walked into the bullring like a cowboy born in the saddle, low to the ground, bowlegged and sporting a serious 5 o?clock shadow. There was no mystery about who would do what: Fish was going to attack with his serve and backhand and Falla was going to dig a trench behind his baseline. But the Tretorn pressureless balls, nerves and 8,000-plus feet of altitude took their toll. The first set had seven breaks.
?We were laughing at the end of the first set,? McEnroe said. ?I mean, that was crazy tennis.?
McEnroe?s laid-back attitude on the sidelines came in stark contrast to that of Colombia?s captain, Felipe Beron, who, like the fans in the stands, was out of his seat and yelling the whole match.
Falla threw his forehands like a cowboy swinging a lasso; loading off the back foot just before slinging the racquet at the ball. By the end of the first set, he was catching every line on the court. But Fish never got down on himself after that horrific set.
?There were a lot of ups and downs but Mardy?s mental toughness was the key,? McEnroe said. ?He had a lot of opportunities that he did not convert, but he hung in there.?
For the next two hours, the men played a game of tug of war, with Fish taking the second and third sets, and Falla leveling the match in the fourth.
The fifth set started with the big bass drum pounding the beat as the bullring became a chorus of Co-Lom-Bia. Co-Lom-Bia. Midway through the final set, the chant changed to ?Si, se puede!? (?Yes, he can!?). It looked like the momentum was in Falla?s favor. He was on top of the baseline, shortening his backswing, and jabbing at the ball to create both angles and depth. The Colombians were throwing up prayers of gratitude with every point he won.
But Fish had a plan, as he would later admit. He switched tactics, backed up and went on defense. Though his lungs were heaving, his legs stayed steady. He hit high percentage crosscourt drives that fooled Falla into shooting at high-risk, low-percentage targets. Falla?s forehands began to find the net. By the last point of the match, the two players had switched roles: Fish was three feet behind his baseline defending and Falla was at the net attacking. Fish hit a heavy crosscourt passing shot and all Falla could do was watch it whizz by.
?I didn?t care if I play defense or offense,? Fish said. ?I was just trying to get a win for the team.?
Fish found a way to win, but teammate Sam Querrey didn?t have the same success. It was Santiago Giraldo?s day. With his team trailing by one, and the hopes of his nation strapped to his back, ?Santi? played like a man possessed, reading the American?s first serve like a how-to manual.
?I think that my return is the strongest part of my game,? Giraldo said. ?I have been working hard on my returns for this tie. I am very happy with how I played today. I never gave many chances to Sam.?
It turned out to be an old-fashioned butt-whipping for the American. Querrey struggled with the altitude, hit just 48 percent of his first serves in, and lost 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 in 95 minutes. But he took it on the chin and didn?t make excuses, a good lesson for the American rookies on the bench.
?Credit to him for saving those set points in the third,? Querrey said. ?He made big first serves and struck some big forehands.?
?The tactics for Sam were to try and keep the ball in the court,? McEnroe said. ?Sam never really got comfortable from the baseline today. And Giraldo came out firing and kept the momentum going.?
Querrey has a nickname too: ?The Professor.? Don?t be surprised if he finds an answer on Sunday for Friday?s problem. With the contest tied at 1-1, this tug of war will continue.
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