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Agassi could be back in U.S. Davis Cup mix
The United States could have used Andre Agassi. Since Agassi quit playing for the U.S. Davis Cup team 4 1/2 years ago to focus on the Grand Slam events, American captain Patrick McEnroe has rebuilt the team around young players such as Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish.
In the best-of-five final against Spain on the slow red clay at Olympic Stadium, Roddick lost both of his matches in the United States' 3-2 loss. On Sunday, Carlos Moya beat the American star 6-2, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5) to give Spain an insurmountable 3-1 lead.
"For Andre, the door is always open," McEnroe said. "He's never completely shut the door, at least to me. As long as he's out there competing at the level he's at, I'm going to keep asking."
The Americans' only points came from California twins Bob and Mike Bryan in doubles ！ they are 5-0 in Davis Cup play without dropping a set ！ and Fish in a 7-6 (8), 6-2 victory over Tommy Robredo after Spain had already won.
"I think it's just another step for us in trying to win this thing," said McEnroe, whose team faces Croatia in March in Carson, Calif., in the opening round of the 2005 competition. "It gives me hope we can win one of these."
Roddick was quick to praise the Spanish players.
"When someone accomplishes something like the Spanish team did today, you have to respect that and give them their due credit," said Roddick, who lost to 18-year-old Rafael Nadal on Friday. "They did a great job."
Holding back tears after clinching Spain's second victory in the team event, Moya ran over and reached up through a rail to greet Prince Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne, and his wife, Princess Letizia.
"The Davis Cup is my dream," Moya said. "I can't ask for more. There is nothing bigger than what I've lived today."
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe was counting on getting two wins in singles from Roddick, who won the 2003 U.S. Open (news - web sites) and finished that season atop the rankings. Spain figured to have the edge, because of the surface and the drum-thumping din of 27,200 red-and-yellow-clad fans.
While nothing Nadal or Moya did should have been particularly surprising to Roddick, he was startled in the third set Sunday when a man known in Spain for self-promotion ran onto the court. He tried to put a red hat on Moya's head, but was quickly taken away. "My heart jumped when I first saw it," Roddick said.
Spain took a 2-0 lead Friday, and only one team ！ Australia in 1939 ！ has come back from that deficit to win the Davis Cup. But the Bryans won the doubles match Saturday, giving the United States a shot.
"We could have won it," McEnroe said. "We needed the swing of just a few points. But the ultimate goal ！ we haven't quite reached it yet."
The Americans have won the Davis Cup 31 times, but not since 1995 ！ their longest gap since the one between titles in 1926 and 1937.
Moya, a former No. 1 and the 1998 French Open (news - web sites) champion, missed Spain's 2000 Davis Cup championship because of an injury. He lost three times before to Roddick ！ all on hard courts ！ but played the match of his life Sunday.
He broke in Roddick's first two service games. After that it was even, but Moya's steady groundstrokes and deft drop shots kept Roddick guessing. When Roddick tried to come in, Moya lobbed him or passed him. At times, Roddick had to serve with drums thumping and fans screaming.
"You look up and there are people for as far as you can see going nuts and cheering," Roddick said. "This weekend is unlike anything I have experienced before."
Moya breezed through the first set in 36 minutes. In the second, Roddick broke Moya in the fourth game to lead 3-1. But during that game, Roddick slipped and fell heavily at the baseline, wrong-footed by Moya. Roddick limped slightly and later called it a "minor groin strain." McEnroe said it was worse than that. "I was actually, at one point, considering stopping the match late in the second set ... because I worried he was going to get hurt," McEnroe said. "It seemed to get better. But he tweaked it pretty good." In the second-set tiebreaker, Roddick double-faulted as Moya pulled ahead 4-1. The Spaniard went up 5-1 with another lob winner, and Moya closed out the tiebreaker when Roddick netted a backhand. Moya had a match point in the 10th game of the third set when Roddick double-faulted, but the American redeemed himself with an ace, taking the game to make it 5-5. In the tiebreaker, Moya raced ahead 6-3, but Roddick took the next two points before Moya closed him out, with Roddick netting a backhand return of Moya's serve. "It's just tough because I felt like I was in it the whole time against one of the top three clay-courters in the world," Roddick said. "I had my chances and just didn't convert them. The bottom line is they were just better than us this weekend. They came out, took care of business and they beat us. It's as simple as that."
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