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3/7/09 7:43 AM | Ricky Dimon
The pressure is once again on Bob and Mike Bryan, a staple of the United States Davis Cup team for many years, after the host U.S.A. and Switzerland split Friday's singles rubbers.
Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States are schedule to face Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka and Yves Allegro in the doubles rubber of this weekend's opening-round Davis Cup tie. The winning team will give its country a 2-1 lead heading into reverse singles on Sunday, as it's all tied up 1-1 after Friday.
Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss team's No. 1 player with Federer nursing a back injury, got the underdogs off to a good start with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3) victory in the opening singles rubber. Roddick pulled the United States even with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Federer's replacement, Marco Chiudinelli.
Now it's time for an absolutely crucial doubles clash. If Federer had been able to play, this would have been a rematch of a semifinal showdown at last summer's Olympics. Federer and Wawrinka upset the Bryan Brothers en route to winning the gold medal. Nonetheless, this is still a huge rubber and Switzerland boasts a formidable team.
Wawrinka showed his doubles prowess in Beijing and after a month layoff from tennis, he looked good in singles against Blake. Allegro, meanwhile, is a doubles specialist. The 30-year-old was No. 32 in the world in doubles back in 2004 and he currently sits at 96th. Allegro has an 0-4 match record in doubles this season (0-3 at the ATP level), including a loss to Wawrinka at the season-opening event in Chennai.
The Bryan Brothers reached No. 1 in the world back in 2003 and they are still there today. The Americans regained the top spot earlier this season after finishing 2008 second behind Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. Bob and Mike have three ATP titles in four events so far this year, including an Australian Open triumph. They now own seven Grand Slam titles.
As if the Bryans didn't have enough going for them already, they feed off the kind of energy that will surely be on display in the pro-American crowd at Birmingham, Alabama's Convention Center. Look for the Bryan Brothers to prevail with relative ease and send the U.S.A. into Sunday singles with a critical 2-1 lead.
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