U.S. winds up with 4-1 Davis Cup victory over Russia

The United States wound up with a 4-1 victory over Russia.

Portland, OR  - The new Davis Cup champion United States and last year’s winner Russia closed out their 2007 World Group final on Sunday by splitting a pair of dead rubbers in Portland, as the Americans wound up with a 4-1 victory in the best-of-five championship clash.

In Sunday’s first meaningless reverse singles match, Russian Igor Andreev handled American doubles specialist Bob Bryan 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), while the second rubber saw James Blake come from behind to beat Russian Dmitry Tursunov 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 on the fast hardcourt at Memorial Coliseum. Andreev and Bryan served as replacements for Mikhail Youzhny and Andy Roddick here on Day 3.

The Americans, captained by Patrick McEnroe for the last seven years, clinched their first Davis Cup title in 12 years here on Saturday when the twin Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike, handled a Russian doubles tandem of Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-2 to spark a wild on-court celebration.

In Friday’s opening singles, the heavily-favored U.S. jumped out to a commanding 2-0 lead when the former world No. 1 Roddick defeated Tursunov 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and Blake snuck past Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3).

Last year, Tursunov sent the Russians past the Americans in a semifinal on red clay in Moscow when he outlasted Roddick in a five-set thriller to give the Russians an unassailable 3-1 lead. Tursunov won an epic 32-game fifth set in 17-15 fashion.

The official trophy presentation was held on Sunday, as both the Russians and Americans were presented with medals and mini replicas of the Davis Cup. Team USA then stood around the massive actual Davis Cup trophy to cap the ceremony.

The U.S. now owns a record 32 Davis Cup titles and ended its longest-ever drought without a championship in this prestigious event, which started way back in 1900, with a title by the Americans.

This marked the first Davis Cup final on American soil in 15 years. The U.S. topped Switzerland in a 1992 finale in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Americans, now 32-29 in Davis Cup finals, hadn’t won this championship since 1995, when Pete Sampras led them to a 3-2 victory over Russia in a dramatic finale in Moscow.

The Russians beat Argentina in last year’s final, in Moscow, and captured the first of their two Davis Cup titles back in 2002.

The U.S. is now 3-1 all-time versus Russia, which beat the Americans 3-2 in last year’s semis. Team USA bested the Russians 3-2 in an opening-round affair on home turf in Atlanta back in 1998.

Team USA is a perfect 3-0 all-time here in Portland, where it won some semifinal matchups back in 1981 and 1984.

The Russians were guided by Shamil Tarpischev, who led his team to the title last year and skippered the Russian women to the Fed Cup championship earlier this year.

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