SANTIAGO, Chile – He was the local boy, very nearly making good, but deserving nevertheless the cheers of his neighbors.
They surrounded him, close to filling the tiny 6000 seat cauldron called Estadio Nacional on a hot Sunday afternoon as wiry Paul Capdeville almost held off the mighty USA in a drama of two acts. continue reading »
March 06 2011 | Davis Cup | 1 Comment »
Bud at Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile
SANTIAGO, Chile –- Friendly folks, the Chileanos, but they’re plotting a dirty deal for this week’s tourists, the gringos from the United States.
The dirt has been spread across Estadio Nacional’s center court, becoming a tennis battleground – the good earth for the local guys led by Nico Massu, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in both singles and doubles, who hope to prolong the U.S. miseries on alien clay. continue reading »
March 03 2011 | Davis Cup | 1 Comment »
That 110-year-old pot is around again, in circulation, lusted for but largely unnoticed. It’s the Davis Cup, a wonderful – if wacky – chase for a chunk of silver and bragging rights as world champs for the country that survives.
The first round has been played, and – stick around – we won’t know until December who will grasp the big punchbowl, currently languishing under lock and key in Spain. That’s the wackiness. Though the epitome of tennis pressure and excitement, Davis Cup is about as easy to follow as a maze, stretching across the world and year for three more rounds: July, September and the December climax. continue reading »
March 09 2010 | Davis Cup | 1 Comment »
February 16, 2010 marks the 51st birthday of John McEnroe. Here’s his profile as it appears in my book THE BUD COLLINS HISTORY OF TENNIS ($35.95, New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com) continue reading »
February 16 2010 | Misc. Articles | No Comments »
Red buds along the highway heading into Winston-Salem,NC
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina – Standing alone in the darkened arena, a spotlight gleaming against its silver frame, the 108-year-old Davis Cup, almost 4-feet tall, raised higher on a platform, seemed the holy grail from a Wagnerian opera. Reverential music sounded throughout Joel Coliseum, and people were saying “Wow…so that’s it! Awesome.”
But that mood was quickly lost, and 10,082 folks inhabiting the building began transforming it to
Bedlam-beside-the-Yadkin River for 3 days. Noise and more noise. Pep bands, cheerleaders (a uniformed group, the “Netheads” for the U.S.), the abominable thunderstix crackling and rattling. Constant hollers of “USA – USA!” Over and over for hours.
continue reading »
April 13 2008 | Davis Cup | No Comments »