Fish defeated Santiago Giraldo of Colombia,3-6,6-3,7-5,4-6,8-6 in Bogota today on red clay to clinch the victory.There is no fifth set tiebreaker in Davis Cup tennis.

With the win,the United States advanced to the World Group.Only once in history has the United States not advanced to the World Group.Columbia has never advanced to the World Group.

Isner won his opening match in 5 sets against Alejandro Falla and teamed with John Isner to win the doubles.Isner dropped his opening singles contest to Giraldo.

It has been quite a year for Fish.He won at Newport and Atlanta and lost in the finals at Cincinnat to Roger Federer after beating Andy Murray.

Fish had two wrist surgeries in 2005 and fell to #341 in the world.That is long forgotten.

The win allowed Patrick McEnroe to keep advancing as United States Davis Cup Captain.He had announced at the US Open that he would step down as davis Cup Captain after this Davis Cup year is over.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning as Davis Cup captain, but it is a decision I felt was best for the team and myself right now,” McEnroe said.  “Davis Cup is a significant time commitment and this decision will allow me to focus more energy on my family and to the USTA Player Development program”

“Patrick is the one the finest and most decorated captains in U.S. Davis Cup history,“ said Lucy S. Garvin, Chairman of the Board and President, USTA.  “He leaves an indelible mark on the Davis Cup, and has always handled his captaincy with class and distinction.  Patrick is and will remain a tremendous asset to U.S. tennis as he continues to lead our player development efforts.”

The U.S. will face Colombia in the World Group Play-off next week.  It is the first time since 2005, and just the fifth time since the World Group was instituted in 1981, that the U.S. has had to compete in the play-off round.  The U.S. is 3-1 in World Group Play-offs, having defeated Belgium on red clay in its last appearance in the World Group Play-off.

“Patrick changed the culture of Davis Cup in the United States, creating a true team environment and a sense of camaraderie that the U.S. has never before seen,” said Jim Curley, Chief Professional Tournaments Officer, USTA.  “He has been a champion of the competition in every sense of the word, and elevated the stature of the event in this country.”

The World Group Play-off against Belgium in 2005 was the first of 10 consecutive U.S. Davis Cup ties that featured the lineup of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan, shattering the previous U.S. record for most consecutive ties with the same lineup.  The previous record was three consecutive ties by eight different combinations.

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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with nearly 750,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.

Van Patten grew up in New York playing tennis near the US Open’s then-Forest Hills home and took up acting when his showbiz family moved to California.  He became a professional tennis player in 1979 and spent eight years on the pro circuit.  In Celebrity Tennis Van Patten unearths the ways his guests are influenced by tennis and how the sport is a regular part of their lives, and offers a demonstration of their on-court strengths.

“The worlds of tennis and celebrity have long been intertwined,” said Laura Hockridge, vice president, original programming, Tennis Channel.  “Professional stadiums are filled with newsmakers of every type, from entertainers and politicians to business people and other sports’ athletes.  Pro tennis players today are just as likely to appear on red carpets or magazine covers.  Vince Van Patten is a perfect host for Tennis Channel’s Celebrity Tennis, having navigated both of these environments throughout his life.”

The premier edition of Celebrity Tennis profiles television’s top advice guru, “Dr. Phil” McGraw, on a red clay court at Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, Calif., where he declares his backhand to be his best shot.  A serious tennis player who uses the game as his own form of therapy, McGraw hits the court six-to-eight times a week, and admits to Van Patten that he builds his daily schedule around getting in an afternoon match.  McGraw also offers viewers a glimpse inside his overstuffed tennis bag, which he says he always has on hand, as well as a look into his vast closet full of treasured tennis T-shirts.

“It is good to be back in the game I love and a relief to be away from the high stakes poker games for awhile,” said Van Patten.

The second episode of Celebrity Tennis (Feb. visits all-American supermodel Christie Brinkley in East Hampton, N.Y., at a charity benefit for the Ross School, where she is joined by actor Alec Baldwin, tennis legend Andre Agassi and famed tennis coach Nick Bollettieri.

Brinkley, who coincidentally grew up in California on Rod Laver Lane (a street named for one of the sport’s all-time champions), hits with Van Patten on the court at her house, built to the same specifications as center court at the US Open.  Brinkley also demonstrates her air-guitar skills on a tennis racquet, plays tennis with neighborhood kids and divulges funny anecdotes about her many trips to the US Open.

Poker champion Gus Hansen is the focus of episode three (Feb. 15), which takes viewers to Las Vegas’ Stirling Club.  Hansen explains that, although he played in junior tennis tournaments as a youngster, he realized he did not have the goods to go all the way.  Having made close to $10 million as a career gambler, however, he tells Van Patten that he stopped putting his money down on tennis after losing seven figures on a bet that Rafael Nadal would win the 2009 French Open.  (Though at the time of the bet Nadal had never lost a French Open match, the perennial clay-court champion ultimately lost to Robin Soderling in an upset for the ages.)

Television and music superstar Brandy is profiled in the fourth episode of Celebrity Tennis (Feb. 22).  In addition to revealing herself as the hardest working tennis student in show business, Brandy notes that her introduction to the sport came at the hands of none other than her best friend, American superstar Serena Williams.  Van Patten goes for a workout with Brandy and her demanding tennis fitness routine as they get in court time in Calabasas, Calif.

Additional episodes of Celebrity Tennis will follow these initial editions.

Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) is the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle.  A hybrid of comprehensive sports, health, fitness, pop culture, entertainment, lifestyle and travel programming, the network is home to every aspect of the wide-ranging, worldwide tennis community.  It also has the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television, with telecast rights to the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open), Australian Open, Olympus US Open Series, ATP Masters Series, top-tier Sony Ericsson WTA Tour championship competitions, Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, and Hyundai Hopman Cup.  Tennis Channel is carried by nine of the top 10 MSOs, Verizon FiOS TV, and has a national footprint via DIRECTV and DISH Network.

“We knew these were key matches, and that we were able to get both gives us a great opportunity on the weekend,” a pleased Federer said after improving to 36-11 career in Davis Cup.

Along with Swiss teammate Stanislas Wawrinka- who prevailed in straights over a stomach-ridden Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the first match on the red clay at the Valletta Cambiaso club in Italy- Federer helped give Switzerland a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five competition with the winner remaining in the World Group for next year. If they can finish off their Italian hosts this weekend, it will be the 20th straight appearance.

Following No.22 Wawrinka’s early win, the grand slam record holder fought off a pair of break points before getting it going against Bolelli. He broke him six different times during the hour and 40-minute match.

“With the jet lag and surfaces change and playing here in Italy away, I knew it was always going to be a tough match,” the 28 year-old world No.1 pointed out after serving 10 aces and finishing with 35 winners.

Italy is hoping to improve on a strong 3-1 head-to-head record. But if they’re going to now pull the upset, they’ll have to be perfect this weekend starting with doubles against the 2008 Olympic gold duo of Federer and Wawrinka, who’ll attempt to close it out tomorrow versus Fabio Fognini and Potito Starace.

If the Italian tandem can string the upset, the reverse singles on Sunday would have extra meaning. It should be quite a challenge tomorrow for the hosts who are wearing black armbands in dedication to the loss of six Italian soldiers killed when a bomb exploded in Afghanistan.

Both Seppi and Bolelli paid tribute during their matches to true heroes no longer with us.