No Doubles Jeopardy for the U.S.

Whether it was Diego Nargiso, Kevin Ullyett or Juan Balcells, there has been a certain consistency on the middle day of Davis Cup rounds involving the United States after the doubles.

A hero for the day was created, even if you might not remember him a few days later. The shelf life for a doubles hero from Italy, Zimbabwe or Spain may not be long, but there was the prospect Slovakians Karol Beck or Jan Kroslak could join the list on Saturday.

But two animated friends and teammates prevented the potential of fleeting foreign fame. Though even the most veteran American doubles teams have stumbled in Davis Cup action, rookie Mardy Fish and James Blake were poised enough to withstand its up-and-down nature, defeating Beck and Kroslak, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, in 2 hours 18 minutes at the Convention Center.

The doubles victory clinched the first-round match for the United States, which defeated Slovakia, 3-0. After the Americans took a 2-0 lead on Friday with four-set victories by Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick, advancement into the quarterfinals was essentially a foregone conclusion. The next opponent will be either Morocco or Spain, April 5-7. Spain leads Morocco, 2-1.

Officials said the quarterfinal could be held on grass, possibly either in the Southern California desert or in Florida. In today’s reverse singles, which were rendered meaningless, Blake, substituting for Sampras, faces Kroslak and Roddick plays Beck.

Though Slovakia was hampered without its injured stars, Dominik Hrbaty and Karol Kucera, in Oklahoma City, the Americans’ ability to secure the doubles point at least put an end to a dubious streak. The United States was 0-5 in doubles--most recently winning against Australia in the 1999 quarterfinals--and 3-12 in the last 15 matches.

“Let’s just say I am glad to get the monkey off our back to win a match,” U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said. “I’m not making any predictions about the future, about who is going to play or what, but obviously the way these guys played was a big statement.”

The Slovaks were impressed by Fish and Blake, and in particular with Blake’s volleying ability. Blake faced two break points in his opening serve game and never faced another. Fish had his serve broken once, when he served for the victory, at 5-2, in the fourth set.

Fish plays regularly with Jeff Morrison, but Blake and Fish were partners three times last year in tour events, reaching the quarterfinals at Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It seems they knew exactly what to do every ball,” Kroslak said. “They play really good doubles, and I cannot say on the day they were really better than us. We had some chances but the biggest difference between us was on the volley. They were much better on the volley.”

Fish and Blake had little trouble staying energized, breaking Beck at love in the fourth game of the first set. They also were able to retain their focus after losing the second in a tiebreaker.

“The atmosphere is unlike anything else and it’s above any win you can possibly have in any tournament, I would think,” Fish said. “I think I’ve had a few good wins in my career, not even close, not even in the same league.”

Said Blake, whose first-serve percentage was 77: “I am going to get fired up for any Davis Cup match I’m playing, dead rubber, live rubber, 2-0, 0-2. It’s exciting. One point is pretty important so I’m going to get fired up for any match I get a chance to play.”

McEnroe may have finally found the right doubles combination. Fish and Blake aren’t planning on combining at any ATP events between now and the next Davis Cup match in April because of Fish’s partnership with Morrison, but Blake may play with Todd Martin.

“It’s difficult throwing combinations together, No. 1, which we have done a lot,” McEnroe said. “I didn’t want them to feel that this was a match where if they lost it, they weren’t going to play again. I know I felt that when I played Davis Cup, and I know guys that were along the same years as I, felt the same way, that you sort of have one shot.”

The world landscape has changed since the days of Rick Leach-Jim Pugh and John McEnroe-Peter Fleming and Stan Smith-Bob Lutz.

“The other thing is that the other countries are better, have gotten better in the last 20 years, and we used to dominate the doubles,” Patrick McEnroe said. “That’s going to be more difficult, but in some sense the doubles has become more specialized on the tour.”

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Davis Cup

First-round result: United States eliminates Slovakia

Quarterfinal match, April 5-7: United States vs. winner of Morocco-Spain