Today’s a big day for tennis lovers in the Piedmont Triad and Winston-Salem in particular.  Andy Roddick beat Tomas Berdych to clinch a win for the US over the Czech Republic in the first round of the 2007 Davis Cup.  That means the US team will be playing its quarterfinal Davis Cup tie against Spain at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum from April 6-8, 2007 in Winston-Salem.   Tickets go on sale Thursday, February 15 at 10 a.m. for US Tennis Association members and on February 19 for the general public.

For those of you not familiar with the Davis Cup, it is similar to the Ryder Cup for golf except that it doesn’t pit America against a European team, it’s played every year and it’s the US vs. the rest of the world.  In other words it’s a big deal.

Even if you’re not a big tennis fan you should look into getting tickets for this one.  It’s the best chance you’ll have to see some great American players (most likely Andy Roddick, James Blake, and the Bryan Brothers) and some very impressive Spanish players (Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano Lopez).  On top of that you really have to see professional tennis live to appreciate what these guys are doing.  The ball is hit harder and the players move faster than you can imagine until you see it up close and personal.

I’m a tennis fanatic so this is about as exciting as it gets for me.