Team USA is competing in a place this weekend that hasn?t exactly been known for its safety. But that?s not the reason the team traveled to Bogota, Colombia, with its own private security. When any U.S. team travels abroad, the USTA doesn?t take chances.
?No matter where we go outside the USA, we travel with usually one or two security officers,? says Derek Fisher, the senior manager for USA Team Events. ?Their role is to reach out to the local security and make sure that a plan is in place to ensure the safety of our players and all of our delegation.?
You won?t see Fisher on the court at any Davis Cup matches or practices, but he plays a vital role nonetheless. He?s responsible for the logistics. ?Usually, about three or four months out, I will come to the venue site and visit with my counterpart from the other team,? Fisher says. ?I will also take time to visit all the hotels and see which ones best fit our needs.?
And they have plenty of needs. The U.S. team travels with a big entourage: a trainer, tennis coach, strength and conditioning coach, massage therapist and stringer. ?We don?t want to have to rely on anything from the local market,? Fisher says. ?We even brought our team doctor. With the question of altitude, he consulted with resources in the U.S. to see what was the plan for our guys regarding fluids, and practice schedules.?
Fortunately, none of the players have struggled tremendously with the altitude, making the doctor?s, and Fisher?s, job a little bit easier.
Months ago, when Fisher was planning the team?s trip to Colombia, one member of the current squad probably wasn?t on his mind. Ryan Harrison was just another young up-and-comer on the horizon. But the 18-year-old broke through at the U.S. Open, defeating a Top 20 player in Ivan Ljubicic and playing and impressing in his first five-set match. After that performance, captain Patrick McEnroe?s selection of the young gun as the fourth team member for Davis Cup wasn?t a surprise.
Also not surprising was the fact that he didn?t play in Saturday?s doubles match as previously planned. As many predicted, with the tie tied 1-1 and membership in the World Group on the line, a more experienced player, Mardy Fish, took Harrison?s slot. Fish played alongside John Isner to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead over Colombia. Harrison is still pretty green, after all. He?s fresh-faced, his sandy blond hair is parted neatly in the middle, he looks you in the eye when he speaks, and he even answers questions with ?yes, sir? and ?no, sir.? He?s like the Boy Scout of the American team.
?You know, I would love to get out there and play, but these guys [Inser, Querrey and Fish] have all earned the right to play,? says Harrison, who has been a Davis Cup practice partner before, but who had never been selected as one of the four-man team. ?For now, Mardy and Sam are doing a great job. And today, Mardy and John played well. And we have a 2-1 advantage.?
But that doesn?t mean Harrison is content to sit on the bench. ?If called to compete, I will be ready to play,? says Harrison, whose competitiveness came out in full force at the U.S. Open. ?Representing your country is one of the greatest honors you can have. And hopefully, I will have a long career ahead of me and this will not be my last.?
Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-features/~3/jQmC0JZZKGc/
tennis instructions tennis kit tennis lessons tennis live score tennis livescore
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿