Much as with hockey, television does not do tennis justice, and Central Texas tennis fans are in for a treat as some of the best talent in the world takes the court with Spain and the U.S. competing in the Davis Cup quarterfinal. The U.S. has a 5-4 advantage in the series having won four straight on American soil. Spain is being tight-lipped about its lineup, which will be announced Thursday (unfortunately Rafael Nadal has taken himself out of consideration), but we do know that Spain, captained by Albert Costa, should have the No. 6- ranked singles player in the world, David Ferrar, on its roster, and the U.S. team, captained by Jim Courier, will feature local favorite Andy Roddick (pictured) and No. 8-ranked Mardy Fish. If you point your browser to www.texasboxoffice.com right now, you may be able to buy some of the few remaining tickets. There will be a draw ceremony and concert Thursday, officially introducing the teams with live music from Asleep at the Wheel. The Davis Cup will feature two singles matches each on Friday and Sunday, with doubles in between on Saturday.
Draw ceremony and concert: Thu., July 7, noon. ACL Live at Moody Theater, 310 W. Second. $10.
Davis Cup: Fri.-Sun., July 8-10, 2pm. Frank Erwin Center, 1701 Red River. www.daviscup.com.
This article appears in July 8 • 2011.